Early Music Festival

With its inspiration coming from York's National Centre for Early Music, the Beverley and East Riding Early Music Festival next Friday celebrates its 30th anniversary, opening with a visit from period instrument group, La Serenissima. In the forefront of authentic performance of music from the Baroque era, they bring to St Mary's Church concertos composed by Vivaldi for two instruments, with their founder, Adrian Chandler, demonstrating his unique violin virtuosity (May 26).At the beginning of their careers, we are indebted to the European Union for their sponsorship of the Emerging European Ensembles, here represented by the Netherland-based instrumental group, Castello Consort, who offer music of the 17th century in a lunchtime-break event (May 27, Toll Gavel United Church).The festival's major event is reserved for a visit of the Tallis Scholars, one of the UK's most internationally famous choral groups who annually perform over seventy concerts in all parts of the globe. For their Minster programme, '˜Masterpieces of the 16th Century', Peter Phillips, the group's founder in 1973, has included works by Byrd, Brown and Josquin (May 27)Was he a musical genius or a crazed psychopath murderer? The Marian Consort explore, in words and music, the life of the composer, Carlo Gesualdo, the Prince of Venosa, who murdered his wife and her lover (May 29, East Riding Theatre).Tickets from 01904 658338 or [email protected]