classic music in historic setting
 

My wife and I have already booked our trip to Europe next September with a r/t to London. We are using award points to spend the first two nights in the new Mariott at St. Pancras Station. We are looking for classic music recitals in historic settings. This year we attended a chamber music recital in St. Chapel Chapel in Paris and loved it!

I am not finding anything via google, so I am turning to the wisdom of the forum again.

Thanks in advance,

Racer042

About two or three months before your trip check to see what's scheduled at Wigmore Hall and by The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

http://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/

http://www.asmf.org/whats-on-view-all/

Also, the 2012 Proms (Promenade Concerts) will run from July 13 - Sept 8 at Royal Albert Hall.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms

You might also find something playing in the Purcell Room (in Queen Elizabeth Hall Bldg.) at Southbank Centre.

http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co....s/purcell-room

The term used would usually be classical music, not classic music, so that might help you in your search. Although frankly, you won't find anything listed for September 2012 this far ahead except for expensive subscription series or national philharmonics, things like that. So wait until next July or August to find out what is going on in September, and even then, small concerts in churches, etc. are not often listed on the web. But what you went to at Sainte Chapelle (which FYI is French for holy chapel, it isn't a saint's name) is a series mainly for tourists so I'm not up on things like that in London. I'm sure they probably have them, a lot of major European cities do.

St Martin in the Fields has good performances, but they won't have anything listed the far in advance, I bet. try http://www.smitf.org For the kind of thing you went to in Paris, ticket agencies would be the place to look. I don't know what they are in London, you could try ticketmaster.

Of course there is the famous classical music festival, the BBC Proms which runs from about July to sometime in September each year. They have fantastic performances, but programs aren't made public until some time in the Spring, as I recall. A lot of their performances are in Royal Albert Hall, but that isn't what you are looking for, I guess, you want some church or something. Try St Paul's website to see if they have anything.

Here is a website for organ music in London, that might be something up your alley as it would almost hve to be in a church. http://www.londonorgan.co.uk/

You might browse www.timeout.com/london, the weekly magazine. They have a category you can search "Classical and Opera". If you look now, which of course is too far in advance for your dates, you might get ideas of regular venues where such concerts appear, check out their own websites and ask to get on their email lists for things that might interest you later.

The nearest equivalent to the kind of performances I've seen listed for Sainte Chapelle are the evening concerts at St Martin's.

Many of the City of London churches have lunchtime concerts and organ recitals:
http://www.cityevents.co.uk/
and see "Church recitals" under http://www.timeout.com/london/featur...in_London.html

A Prom at the Albert Hall may not be the kind of "historic" you're thinking of, but there's a pretty impressive atmosphere. The programme is usually announced in late April or early May: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms.

Or you could go to Westminster Abbey or St Paul's for a sung Evensong. You don't have to take part in the service, it's perfectly OK to just sit and listen if you prefer.

"<i>I am not finding anything via google,</i>"

There are many historic music venues all over London -- but your main problem is you are looking nearly a year out. Ask again maybe in June/July . . .

meant to add --besides the other places already mentioned, I enjoy concerts at St Giles' Cripplegate

I've no idea what you're googling.

In Britain, nothing built before 1800 can possibly be called "historic", and virtually all our purpose-built concert venues were built after that. But there are several concerts a week at St Cecilia's Hall in Edinburgh, and the Sheldonian Theatre and the Holywell Music Rooms in Oxford, all built in the 17th or 18th centuries. Most other earlier entertainment centres (like the Bath Assembly Rooms, or the Theatre Royal Bristol) are rarely used for concerts these days, but will from time to time have music festivals and are worth googling if you're in the area.

Britain's provincial "historic" mega-attractions (like Blenheim Palace or Chatsworth House) stage - though usually outdoors - series of blockbuster pop classic gigs throughout the summer, though personally I can't think of much good to say about them, except that they often bring some decent jazz along with them as well.

Generally, London's near-equivalents (except for Kew Gardens) don't do quite that, though there are a number of festivals around places like Greenwich and Kew that use the interiors of, say, the Naval College or Kew Palace.A number of smaller places (like Handel House) go out of their way to stage frequent concerts.

These are all listed in the hard copy of Time Out. Collectively, they add up to such a huge volume of classical music in interesting places, tickets rarely sell out, and there's really little point in prebooking more than a day or so ahead. But do remember that overall, they're a great deal rarer in the summer (when everyone's away, singers and musicians are making money on the foreign festival circuits and cultural activity in London winds down) than once most people are back - which doesn't really happen till lateish September

By far, though,, the largest network of medieval and early modern buildings used in Britain for classical music are our 8,000 pre-1800 Anglican churches (all, of course, specifically engineered to have good acoustics, space for orchestras and ample seating).

Among pre-modern London churches, St John's Smith Square is, I think, now deconsecrated and used as a permanent concert venue. St Martin's in the Fields, All Souls Langham Place, St Giles Cripplegate, St Sepulchre without Newgate, St Bride's Fleet Street and Christ Church Spitalfields have concerts at least weekly, though dozens of other similar churches stage them at least monthly - often at lunchtime (one list is at http://www.timeout.com/london/classi...cal_music.html, but remember that Brompton Oratory and Westminster Cathedral are pretty Johnny-come-lately buildings). At least half a dozen Oxford (and I imagine Cambridge) college chapels have several a week during the summer vacation, and less frequent, but less pop-y, concerts once they're back at work

But what they really do, of course, is conduct services. Apart from evensong (Anglicanism's great cultural invention) at St Paul's and Westminster Abbey, several dozen London churches have professional and semi-professional choirs singing the great Anglican/Catholic liturgical settings at least every Sunday, and often several other times a week.

Sadly, The Times has stopped publishing their weekly order of music at services, Time Out doesn't list services and there's no website devoted to providing an authoritative listing of music in London's churches. Googling "London church music" will help. So will www.churchmusic.org.uk/urlsearch.php/church - but remember that most churches in the list aren't either historic or near most visitors' intineraries

flanneruk, thanks for the detailed reply. I really enjoyed Mozart in Sainte Chapelle in Paris this year and was looking for a similar experience in London. Your advice makes sense to try the Anglican churches. I know this is nearly a year out, but I want to try to identify places now and look for an event when we get closer.

One of the highlights of our trip last year to Tuscany was visiting the Abbey of Saint'Antimo during a rainy October day and hearing the gregorian chants during Mass.

A little spiritual focus is not a bad thing.

"hearing the gregorian chants during Mass. "

A number of Catholic churches in central London do it a great deal better, with a much wider repertoire (singing really isn't in many Italians' genes).

Trouble is, Westminster Cathedral (arguably the best church choir in Britain, which would make it the best in the world) doesn't meet your "historic" brief. But weekday Vespers at 5 pm, followed by sung Latin Mass (different timings for both on Sundays), would win my nomination for Britain's best daily musical treat.

St Etheldreda's, Ely Place, is the only medieval Catholic church in the English-speaking world, and the music at its 11 am Sunday High Mass (obviously in Latin, as is almost the norm in Britain's major Catholic churches) has an extraordinarily monastic quality. Its choir, though, rarely matches the standards of the music they sing.

You could almost be in Italy.

They hold concerts in the crypt at St Martins-in-the-Fields in London, as well as in the church. We've been twice to jazz in the crypt and it was great, very atmospheric. There is a cafe down there as well, you can get a meal and wine to go along with the music. Prices were also very reasonable, you need to prebook as it sells out.

Kay

Now we are zeroing in on what I am looking for. I apologize if I wasn't exact before, in scope or spelling.

I will look at Westminster Cathedral, St Etheldreda's, and St Martins-in-the-Fields.

We are only in London for two days then we are off on the Eurostar to Paris and Burgundy.