Ryedale Festival, July 17 to August 2 (From Gazette & Herald)

Ryedale Festival, July 17 to August 2

2:44pm Thursday 9th July 2009

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THE 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn is the focus of this year’s Ryedale Festival, which starts on Friday, July 17 and runs until August 2.

The festival includes 43 events in 24 locations across Ryedale, many of them stately homes and atmospheric churches.

According to Justin Doyle, the festival’s artistic director, this anniversary affords the musicians performing during the festival a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the life and works of the composer.

“In the past two years we have explored Haydn’s string quartets and his magnificent oratorio The Creation; in 2009 we present works ranging from his masterly Missa in Tempore Belli to his music for mechanical clock and a puppet opera,” he said.

Austro-Hungarian gypsy melodies and Croatian folk tunes appear in many of Haydn’s works, so the programme has a focus on gypsy music and Hungarian art music inspired by the folk tradition. At the centre of this, the festival opera will be Zoltán Kodály’s ‘Háry János’ – rarely performed in this country but popular in Haydn’s homeland.

Artists playing at the festival include the Amsterdam and Barbirolli string quartets, pianist Martin Roscoe and the Gould Piano Trio. The Northern Sinfonia will be giving three concerts, including a fiery programme of violin concerti, and the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists celebrate Purcell’s and Handel’s anniversaries. Alongside these established performers, the Community Opera celebrates its 10th birthday with a brand new re-telling of the morality play, Everyman.

Young musicians feature in several events, including the City of Leeds Youth Orchestra, who will perform Holst’s Planets suite. The popular Coffee Concert series includes recitals by leading cimbalom and accordion players, and there will be performances by local bands, theatre, lectures and the launch of a film-making competition.

An exciting innovation in this year’s programme will be a major performance of African music, all in newly-created arrangements which bring together singing, film and dance, with a weekend of workshops.

For details about events, venues and ticket prices, visit www.ryedalefestival.co.uk

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