From The Red House

I shall never forget the impact made on me by the Japanese theatre”. This was Britten, broadcasting to Japan in 1958, two years after his memorable trip to the country in 1956. He had visited as part of a Far East tour beginning in 1955 and which included stays in Bali, Hong Kong and India. The whole trip had a deep and lasting influence on his compositions from around that time onwards, and perhaps most significantly on his 1964 Church Parable Curlew River. This podcast, hosted by Dr Lucy Walker, explores the background to this fascinating work, including the specific influence of the Japanese Nō play Britten attended, twice, in 1956: Sumidigawa.

Britten's A Ceremony of Carols is one of his most popular choral works - and it very much comes into its own at this time of year. In this podcast Dr Lucy Walker explores both the beautiful music of this piece, and its riveting backstory which involves a pioneering harpist, a Canadian bookshop, and a perilous crossing across the Atlantic. She is joined by three musicians who regularly take part in performances of A Ceremony of Carols: harpist Miriam Keogh, soprano Madeleine Holmes, and conductor Ben Vonberg-Clark.

Lucy Walker looks back at the remarkable history of the Friday Afternoons project: from its origins as a set of school songs by Britten in the 1930s, to its international launchpad in Britten's centenary year, to its current incarnation, and to where the project goes next.

Dr Lucy Walker explores the importance of song and singing in Benjamin Britten’s life and work.

In this special edition, musician and expert on choral music Joe McHardy joins Dr Lucy Walker for a lively and wide-ranging conversation about the life and times of composers William Byrd and Thomas Weelkes, including some stunning extracts from Byrd’s music.

Soprano Elise Caluwaerts has a wide and varied career as a singer, and has been involved in several fascinating creative projects during the recent lockdowns. She is also planning a project based around the songs of Alma Mahler in 2022.

Sculptor Hannah Honeywill has been on a Creative Retreat in collaboration with Britten Pears Arts and The Royal Society of Sculptors. She has been working on a project inspired by the relationship between Britten and Pears, and the fact that they had to keep it hidden for most of their lives.

Hannah Fiddy is the co-founder (with Hanna Grzeskiewicz) of Alternative Classical - an organisation which aims to attract new audiences to classical music through a brilliantly creative mix of live and virtual projects.

James Thornton is an environmental lawyer and CEO of ClientEarth, an organisation dedicated to global environmental change through legal process, literally advocating for their 'client' the earth. James is also a music-lover, with a great interest in the music of Britten; and a Buddhist: drawn to the interconnectedness of things in the universe, and how such connections can effect great change.

Following the performances of BEAM: Everybody Can Stand in their Own Light at Snape Maltings, Lucy Walker caught up with some of the team that put this wonderful show together.