Five Centuries of Music

The first in a series of concerts and recitals celebrating 500 years of music-making at Christ Church, our renowned Cathedral Choir is joined by The English Concert and Frideswide Voices for a special performance Franz Joseph Haydn's magnum opus The Creation. 

Charlie Lovell-Jones (2017, Music) and Julian Chan present all known works for violin and piano by the 20th-century British composer and Christ Church alumnus Sir William Walton, including the Italianate Two Pieces. They open their programme with Mozart’s last large-scale work for violin and piano, written concurrently with Don Giovanni. Given Walton’s love of Italy they continue the Italian theme by ending with Respighi’s monumental Violin Sonata of 1917.

Errollyn Wallen CBE, the Master of the King's Music, discusses her life and career with former House post-doctoral researcher and music writer Dr Leah Broad. This event takes place in Christ Church's beautiful Upper Library.

Christ Church alumna Judith Valerie Engel explores the music of some of the many women composers who were actively engaged in European musical life, but have been all but forgotten, in this recital for our 500th Anniversary music festival.

Alamire, consisting of the world’s finest consort singers under the directorship of David Skinner, perform some of the most expansive and flamboyant compositions of Christ Church's founding Organist John Taverner.

The UK based new-music ensemble, presents a programme of Bobby McFerrin, Phoebe Bridgers, João Gilberto and more arranged for an ensemble of singers, string players, and jazz combo by Luke Sitaraman, Lay Clerk of the Cathedral Choir, and Daniel Munks.

Organist, Pianist and House alumna Libby Burgess performs music by JS Bach, Ferrucio Busoni, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, as well as works by composer connected to five centuries of music making at Christ Church.

First performed in 1923, William Walton's Façade - An Entertainment sets a series of poems by renowned English modernist Edith Sitwell to rhythmically vibrant and even jazz-influenced music. This performance takes place around a three course meal with wine in the Renaissance grandeur of the Great Hall.