Since 2002, Ludlow English Song Weekend has brought the very best singers to Shropshire in the spring, including Roderick Williams, Carolyn Sampson, Robert Murray, Nicky Spence and many more.
Each year brings a fresh encounter with songs by Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Parry or Britten, while making some unexpected connections, and showcasing under-appreciated composers too. Commissions and world premieres, from both established and emerging composers, have taken the art form forward. And talented young singers have been guided in masterclasses by Susan Bullock, Ann Murray and others.
While works for voice and piano naturally predominate, the festival has hosted ensembles including the Gildas Quartet, Bath Camerata and Carice Singers, and forged collaborations with musicians including guitarist Shaun Shibe, oboist Nicholas Daniel, and violinist Michael Foyle.
“Ringed by blue remembered hills, Ludlow is the perfect setting for a festival of English Song… But you’d be wrong if you thought it was all Finzi, Bucks Fizz and honey still for tea.”
The Times
In 2024…
Roderick Williams returned to Ludlow with a programme including Grant Machlachlan’s The Silence of the Day, a song cycle for baritone and double bass; and baritone James Newby joined us for the first time.
We celebrated the centenary of the great Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) and heard the recently re-discovered music of Jessy Reason (1878-1938). John Bridcut presented his documentary Michael Tippett: The Shadow and the Light, and Jess Walker brought her cabaret Girls will be Boys to Ludlow. We welcomed pianist Ian Tindale to programme two recitals, and heard music by Derri Joseph Lewis and Christopher Churcher, both previous participants in our Young Composers programme.
Browse the full festival programme below:
