Kentish Express Ashford & District
Soloists perform to full house during festival
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Stour Music’s 54th festival drew to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday with a full house for the final choral concert of music by Purcell and Handel.
The impressive line-up of soloists at All Saints Church in Boughton Aluph included counter-tenor Tim Mead who will shortly be starting rehearsals for the role of Oberon in Benjamin Britten’s opera Midsummer Night’s Dream at this year’s Glyndebourne Festival, in a role originally written for Stour Music’s founder Alfred Deller in 1960.
Other internationally known soloists included soprano Faye Newton, bass Peter Harvey and counter-tenor Jeremy Budd.
Mark Deller, festival director, conducted the Stour Festival Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Purcell’s Ode on St Cecilia’s Day and Handel’s Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne.
There were full houses for all concerts at the final weekend, including a performance last Friday entitled The Deer’s Cry by The Sixteen, directed by Kent-based Harry Christophers CBE as part of their choral pilgrimage to cathedrals and churches across Britain.
Mr Christophers said: “The intimate ambience of the church is so suited to the music of the Renaissance which allows us as performers to really convey what we are about and how fortunate we are to have a music festival of such high standing on our doorstep in this beautiful part of Kent.” 1 Blonde & Craig David - Nothing Like This 2 Calvin Harris ft Rihanna - This Is What You Came For 3 Meghan Trainor - NO 4 Years & Years - Desire 5 Fifth Harmony ft Ty Dolla $ign - Work from Home 6 Justin Timberlake - Can’t Stop The Feeling! 7 R City ft Adam Levine – Locked Away 8 Little Mix ft Sean Paul - Hair 9 Pink - Just Like Fire 10 Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello - I Know What You Did Last Summer