I’m excited to be singing in the Leiden Christmas Tattoo this year, along with four orchestras, and Marnie Baumer and Nataliia Cioban. The tattoo is on Saturday, 9th December on the square at the west end of the historic Pieterskerk, the church in which Pilgrim Father Rev. John Robinson is buried.
For tickets and information (in Dutch), please visit this webpage.
With Gyles Brandreth and Dr Hilary Jones. Photo: CWGC
Last Wednesday, I joined Gyles Brandreth and Dr. Hilary Jones to perform in the Guards’ Chapel, London, for the Commonwealth War Graves’ Foundation‘s Christmas carol service.
The foundation is the charitable arm of the war graves commission. Its aims include raising awareness of the work of the CWGC and the stories behind the graves so that no one is forgotten. It also raises funds to support the CWGC in caring for our war dead. Please consider donating to help their work.
For more photographs and information, please visit this webpage.
Almost 82 years ago, when the Netherlands was occupied by German forces, Peter Tazelaar travelled from England to Scheveningen by boat. Under his waterproof clothing he wore a tuxedo. Before going ashore, he removed his waterproofs and splashed himself with brandy in order to blend in with the party-goers he expected to find there. But the beach was empty. A curfew had been imposed and he would have been shot immediately had he been seen.
On 22nd November, we remembered Tazelaar and his spirit of resistance. In a closed group, we toasted his memory with Hennessy XO, the same brandy as he had used to disguise himself. Tazelaar had received the bottle from Queen Wilhelmina. I sang “We’ll meet again.”
Last Sunday was Volkstrauertag, Germany’s remembrance day. In the German war cemetery in Ysselsteyn, the Netherlands, we stood still for the victims of conflict, surrounded by the graves of over 32,000 people.
It was an honour to sing and to be silent.
Photo: Boris van Beijnum
I’m looking forward to giving an evening recital as part of a series of concerts about language and music. Together with pianist Han Louis Meijer, I will present different musical settings of poems by W.B. Yeats, A.E. Housman, and John Masefield. Composers include Amy Summers, Rebecca Clarke, Dilys Elwyn Evans, Benjamin Britten, and George Butterworth.
Thursday, 30th November, 2023, 20:15, De Leidse Salon, Leiden. For tickets, please visit this webpage.
Reynaldo Hahn
On Wednesday, 15th November, pianist Lieselotte van Tol and I will give a recital of early-twentieth century and romantic music in Schiedam, the Netherlands.
For more information, please visit this webpage.
I’m delighted to be joining conductor Ronald Corp, the New London Orchestra, Highgate Choral Society, and soloists Gweneth Ann Rand, Ruairi Bowen, and Felix Kemp for a performance of Elijah in London this Saturday. The alto solos are glorious and include singing as Elijah’s guiding angel and as Queen Jezebel.
Saturday, 11th November, 2023, 19:00. For tickets, please visit this webpage.