"The Gesualdo Six sang magnificently faultless. Their sound is precision-tooled for blend, perfectly rounded, and has the utmost ease and precision." Opera Wire Owain Park Director and Bass Guy James Countertenor Alasdair Austin Countertenor Joseph Wicks Tenor Josh Cooter Tenor Simon Grant Baritone During the English Renaissance, musical composition flourished but it was a time of great change fuelled by religious division. This programme traces music written by some of the English Renaissance masters over a period of 200 years, encompassing florid medieval-sounding pieces by Dunstaple and Sheryngham, intricately woven polyphonic works by Tallis and Byrd, and the beautiful simplicity of Gibbons and Tomkins. Sponsored by Stephen Bann [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKH7eByg28I]

Iestyn Davies countertenor Reiko Ichise, Emily Ashton, Emilia Benjamin, Joanna Levine, Sam Stadlen & Jonathan Rees viols Silas Wollston harpsichord Orlando Gibbons died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage on 5th June 1625, 400 years ago. One of this countrys greatest and still under-recognised composers, Fretwork and Iestyn Davies celebrate him in song, fantasies for viols and flamboyant keyboard music. Also to be heard is a fine tribute using the extraordinary surviving medical text on his own death. Interesting fact: Glenn Gould held Gibbons in the highest regard and wore out several Gibbons LPs of the Deller Consort! Sponsored by the late James Bowman

J.C. Bach Es erhub sich ein Streit J.S. Bach Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg BWV 149 Es erhub sich ein Streit BWV 19 Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir BWV 130 Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft BWV 50 Solomon's Knot's staged performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion at Stour Music in 2023 is still talked about in hushed tones. We are thrilled to welcome them back for more Bach this year. The vivid story of the victory of St Michael and his army of angels over the dragon Satan, told in the Book of Revelation, inspired Bach to great heights of invention. His 200-odd surviving cantatas must be considered as one of the greatest collections of musical art of any age, but those for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels stand out even in this remarkable field. Sponsored by James & Jane Loudon

It was entirely magical, that bewitching freedom and fantasy and strangeness of French music, played and performed with palpable love, humour and huge enjoyment. Opera Now Magazine Hilary Cronin soprano Emily Gray mezzo-soprano Sam Boden tenor The Opera Company / Saraband Sarah Bealby-Wright & Guido Martin-Brandis Directors From the team that brought you Castor et Pollux in 2022, this innovative show explores the beautiful cantata repertoire being performed in French salons at the beginning of the 18th century. Full of drama, tragedy, and humour, these miniature masterpieces are staged for the first time, interspersed with dance tunes from the opera house and folk tunes from the town square, taking you on a richly evocative journey to an era overflowing with musical delights. Sponsored by THE ROTHERMERE FOUNDATION Please note that this event is followed by a (free) Firework Display lasting 5 minutes at 9:45 pm. Safety regulations mean that gates to the car park will be closed, and it will not be possible to return to your car until 15 minutes after the display has finished. But we do hope that you will stay on forJazz in the Marquee [https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/stour-music/stour-music-2025-standard-deviation-with-chameleo/e-lklbpj].

Lilli Ptzold cornetto Alexandra Mikheeva slide trumpet & trombone Laura Dmpelmann shawm & arrangements Emily Saville trombone Martha McLorinan, Matthew Long, Greg Skidmore, Frederick Long singers Hanse Pfeifferey is a thrilling prize-winning Renaissance wind ensemble from Germany. With I Fagiolini they take us on an early-16th-century journey featuring polyphony from French, Flemish, Italian, German and even English-speaking regions. Hear the soft-sung vocal originals from precious manuscripts and the first printed songbooks in history, and the town square or dance version for cornett, shawm, sackbut and the rarely heard slide trumpet. Sponsored by Fiona Sunley and Martin & Caroline Goodier

Clmence Niclas voice, recorders Louise Bouedo bowed fiddle Marie-Domitille Murez gothic harp Clment Stagnol medieval lute Apotropaque means an object/saying used to protect against evil or misfortune. This brilliant ensemble - 'the real thing (RH) - has won international competitions and is currently in residence at Fondation Royaumont. The Bella Donna in courtly love praises an idealised woman but also embodies the poisonous if sublime Deadly Nightshade, used by witches to prepare hallucinogenic ointments. Singing of Temperance, Charm and Torment, youll hear soul, virtuosity and passion through the early medieval Cantigas de Santa Mara on to poet/composer Machaut and the virtuosity of Dufay. A rare chance to hear this repertoire with the flamboyance it deserves. Sponsored by Gilbert Holbourn

Standard Deviation Vocal Ensemble Chameleo Jazz Quintet Jazz in the marquee after fireworks is becoming a thing. This year we invite back the vocal jazz of Standard Deviation (heard in 2023 to great acclaim) but now with young (Old-) York-based band Chameleo. A perfect end to a summer's evening. The bar will stay open. Sponsored by The Pack Foundation Suggested donation 15 (book online or contribute on the night)

The rushing of a mighty wind Grandi P Plorabo die ac nocte Benevoli Missa Angelus Domini Palestrina Dum complerentur Benevoli Missa Dum complerentur Infantas Loquebantur variis linguis Robert Hollingworth conductor The grandest surround sound experience of the mid-17th century: not the Gabrielis up the road in Venice but a more Roman affair, music built on Palestrinas legacy - with a bit extra. Intended for the great Roman churches, the congregation surrounded by singers, this will be the first performance of these works since the 18th century. Hear an Easter mass (three choirs) followed by the full four-choir glory of a mass for Pentecost based on Palestrinas motet - and one or two quite extraordinary extras. Sponsored by Sir Graeme Odgers & Mrs Susan Tait, the Hon Mrs Jenefer Dean, and the late Mary Tidman.

Stour Festival Orchestra & Choir Eleonore Cockerham soprano Ellie Stamp mezzo-soprano George Clark baritone Robert Hollingworth conductor Johann Michael Bach Halt, was du hast & Unser Leben waehret siebenzig Jahre J.C./J.S.Bach Ich lasse dich nicht Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture & Magnificat in D S.S Wesley Ascribe unto the Lord Mendelssohn Psalm 114 Da Israel aus Aegypten zog Its hard to realise just how popular and influential Mendelssohns music was in 19th-century England - but how little of it is now performed. The dramatic choral cantata When Israel came out of Egypt is rarely heard but a tour de force as descriptive as the Hebrides Overture. Magnificat, though, reminds us of his debt to generations of Bachs as he grew up in Berlin, so we also offer well-known tunes in arrangements by Johann Christoph and Johann Michael Bach. Mendelssohns own influence can be heard in the music of S.S.Wesley, a guilty pleasure of mine since the age of nine. The full orchestrated version of one of his greatest anthems is a feast! Sponsored by Lady Wilkinson

'Baroque meets Bridgerton' Gttinger Tagblatt 'One of the best performances in the festival's existence Vorarlberger Nachrichten Collin Shay countertenor & harpsichord Simone Pirri violin Teresa Wrann recorder Thomas Pickering harpsichord & traverso Jonatan Bougt theorbo & Baroque guitar Harry Buckoke viola da gamba Baroque composers were often inspired by each other's works, adopting melodies and harmony for their own purposes, a process which continues to this day. Re:invention highlights these links by showing similarities between music in the Baroque period, but also by pairing modern songs with their Baroque roots. When Handel was asked why he used a theme by Bononcini, he replied, Its much too good for him; he didnt know what to do with it! Sponsored by David Green