The Story of English Song
15 March 2026, 11:00am - 2:45pm
Benjamin Britten’s cycle of Thomas Hardy settings, Winter Words, forms the focus of this study day in which Katy Hamilton also explores Britten’s place within the English song tradition. From parlour ballads of the late nineteenth century to contemporary works for voice and piano, this is a chance to discover the story of English song over the last 150 years – and the vital role of Britten in its development. The talk will be illustrated with live performances by former Oxford Song Young Artists Rosie Lavery and Anna Michels. Katy Hamilton will also be joined in conversation by Harriet Burns, Ian Tindale and Mark Padmore.
Programme
- Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918)
- If no one ever marries me (1900)
- George Butterworth (1885 - 1916)
- The lads in their hundreds (1911) from Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad
- Rebecca Clarke (1886 - 1979)
- The Aspidistra
- Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)
- As it is, plenty from On This Island
- Down by the Salley Gardens (1943)
*****
- Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956)
- Proud Songsters (1935) Op. 15 no.10 from Earth and Air and Rain
- Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)
- Winter Words (1953) Op. 52
- At day-close in November
- Midnight on the Great Western - 'The journeying boy'
- Wagtail and baby - 'A satire'
- The little old table
- The choirmaster's burial - 'The tenor man's story'
- Proud Songsters - 'Thrushes, finches and nightingales'
- At the railway station, Upway - 'The convict and the boy with the violin'
- Before life and after
