CAMBRIDGE SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Divine singer Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha
Cambridge Summer Music is a festival so exuberant it simply knocks its competitors into a cocked hat. This year it promises a more dramatic line up than ever. Clearly this Festival has gone from good to gorgeous over the past few years - and the concerts are now unmissable.Take the four lovely Botanic Garden events - unique in appeal at their 6.15p.m. slot ( be there, ticketed, they are prompt starters) these outdoor concerts are for all ages. The venue is heavenly, the atmosphere relaxed - this year ice creams and drinks stalls frame the fringe of the performance area where children and adults dance in the summer evening sunshine . Sounds Green is fabulous just bring a rug and picnic for Prime Brass, on 5th July a local ensemble. Aruun Shosh Quintet on 19th July interleaved by popular duo, Honey and the Bear and finally Bones Apart, skilled female trombonists for the finale.
La Nuova Musica ready to play
Gesualdo six- ready for some amazing music in OLM
From the laid back Botanic Garden to the glorious buildings of Cambridge, the Music Festival splays the entire gamut of venues. There is Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius in the august even awesome, interior of Ely Cathedral ; it features the Gabrieli Consort, the Gabrieli Roar Senior Choir and Chorus under artistic director Paul McCreesh with the Polish National Youth Choir . Over 200 young singers emerge from a five day long intensive course with vocal coaches and Gabrieli Chorus Directors will have honed their voices ( there’s a vocal coach as well) to match the epic performance of’ "‘some of the most glorious music in the classical canon.’
Ashley Wass brillant pianist
Cambridge summer music goes all out on the fabulous venues this year. Is it a pent up revenge on the years they have had their wings clipped by Covid? Whatever the reason here is a once in a lifetime chance to hear the kind of music that lifts the spirits and stirs the blood. How about the gloomy but gorgeous interior of Trinity College for Handel’s Coronation Anthems with the the sensational vocal and instrumental Baroque ensemble La Nuova Musica? Or our Lady and the English Martyrs for a Mass by William Byrd- almost one of the Catholic recusant martyrs himself - what could be more apt? That Gesualdo is the composer makes it all more complex and mysterious. Or how about the ultimate glorious setting of King’s College for The Britten Sinfonia, the Bach Choir some luscious soloists and a delightful menu of pieces by Thomas Tallis ( another under cover Catholic from the 16th Century) Maurice Duruflé and his Requiem Mass and the moving composition, Aberfan by Christopher Wood.
Ely Cathedral- does it come more impressive,?the Gabrieli Consort and myriad cast.
There are soloists of note,
Ashley Wass on piano, the director of the Yehudi Menhuin opens the series of lunchtime concerts ( yes they expect you to be fully committed day and evening ) South African Soprano the fabulous Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha will shake Pembroke college to its foundations with her thrilling recital of work from Schubert to Berlioz. Not to be missed - that is if it’s not already sold out.
And we do have Cambridge’s very own Glydbourne at Childerley Hall for a second year. Wild Arts are doing Donizetti with dashing style - his opera, The Elixir of Love is a typically daft opera but with fantastic tunes to dazzle audience. Childerley scored last year in its lovely gardens and relaxed ambience and is likely to do the same with its cast of young singers - Adina is in love with Nemorino - yes we know already it’s full of madly improbable misunderstandings but on a summer night it simply doesn’t come more ritzy than this -entertainment and culture combined. in a deliciously decadent setting.
Get your tickets now for any or indeed all of these events . Cambridge itself has its glad rags on for everyone who loves music of any sort - and yes there is jazz this year with some top headling ensembles to tempt you.
