LESW25 – Songs of Auld Lang Syne

Tickets for individual LESW25 events go on sale in early January 2025. Festival passes are currently available – please click here

Songs of Auld Lang Syne: Lute songs from the courts of King James VI and I

Part
of a long tradition of music for voice and lute that began with medieval
troubadours, 17th century basso continuo song sees improvised accompaniment on
the mellow, resonant theorbo make a perfect match for the human voice.

One
pioneer of the genre was court musician and composer Nicholas Lanier. 
Sent to Italy by Charles I to scout out paintings for the royal collection,
Lanier heard a revolution in musical composition among Italian innovators,
chief among them Claudio Monteverdi, where music became the servant of the
text. Lanier brought his discoveries home, composing songs in this new style in
English and influencing the development of Britain’s musical world.

The
Scottish courtly songs in our programme are taken from Musica Britannica, Music
of Scotland 1500-1700.  Unlike musical works from Tudor England, Scottish
repertoire of this time tended not to appear in print, though songs travelled
with musicians to be published further afield.  Most are anonymous, but
the text of Then wilt thou goe is by Sir Robert Aytoun (1570-1638) whose poem
Old Long Syne is the oldest surviving version of Robert Burns’ famous Auld Lang
Syne.

Mhairi
and Paula have worked on renaissance and baroque repertoire together for nearly
30 years, most recently the theatre music of Henry Purcell in worldwide and
award-winning performances of King Arthur with the Gabrieli Consort and
Players.

“Mhairi
Lawson’s shining soprano excels.” Gramophone

Purchase tickets in the same transaction for the preceding 'Hearts Haven' at 7.30pm and receive a reduction of £10 per standard ticket (£40 total for two concerts) – click here for those tickets – discount will be applied to cart