I invite audiences to join me on a musical tour through the songs and folk traditions of Europe at Christmas.  We will explore the Christmas story and revel in the excitement of Christmas Eve; we will sing, bake and dance our way through nearly 300 years of musical storytelling.

Our journey features traditional celebrations from the UK to Romania, taking in Italy, Denmark and everywhere in between.  We will hear music by Sadie Harrison based on beautiful seasonal melodies from Ukraine, and an intimate retelling of the Christmas story using traditional French carols.

Poignant, simple melodies and lively, celebratory sound worlds, shining light on beautiful music that deserves to be heard.  This is Christmas described in soft, delicate tones - without sleigh bells and tinsel but full of discovery, familiarity and warmth.

Listen to live recordings of pieces taken from this programme here

Click here to read a review of my concert in St Nicholas Priory in Exeter in January 2023, published in the April-June 2023 edition of Musical Opinion.

Click here to read my blog post about the concert and why I love Christmas so much!

Click here to read programme notes for the concert and to learn more about the composers.

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programme

Scarlatti – Sonata in C Major Kk513 (Pastorale)
Busoni – Nuit de Noël
Bax – O Dame Get Up And Bake Your Pies
Grainger – Sussex Mummers Christmas Carol 
​Bartok - Romanian Christmas Carols
Lyapunov – Fêtes de Noël
Harrison - Shchedryk - The Little Swallow (A carol for Ukraine)
Nielsen - Drømmen om “Glade Jul”
Hauer – Zwölftonspiel: Weihnachten 1946
Inghelbrecht – Pastourelles