RPS Premier Corporate Members Martin Randall Travel invite you to join them for a series of private concerts celebrating early music, admidst the beautiful setting of Yorkshire, from historic York itself to the spectacular countryside of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales.

'The incomparable Tallis Scholars open the festival with a concert in the dramatic setting of York Minster, the largest of English medieval cathedrals and in the opinion of many the greatest. The performance takes place in the evening, when the Minster is at its most hushed, sacred and atmospheric. A very special programme centres around John Taverner, who worked for Cardinal Wolsey (Archbishop of York 1514–1530).

Our final concert is equally unique and compelling. The internationally-renowned Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment performs at Castle Howard, one of the finest of great houses in England and the epitome of Baroque grandeur. To match the splendour of Vanbrugh’s masterpiece (in the 300th anniversary year of the architect’s death), there couldn’t be a more appropriate musician as our subject than Handel. His creative rivalry with, and ultimate ascendancy over, the Italian composer Giovanni Bononcini is the focus of our grand finale.

In between, the Italian thread continues, with a harpsichord recital based around Bach’s Italian influences by rising star Justin Taylor; and the wonderfully titled ‘Legal Aliens’, a wind programme highlighting Italian immigrant musicians who flourished at the English Tudor courts, performed by the virtuosic English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble.

At Hovingham Hall, a splendid stately home where the Worsley family have lived for 450 years, the Consone Quartet perform string quartets on period instruments. By contrast, the French ensemble ApotropaÏK delve into medieval works in a frescoed church on the edge of the moors.

Back in York, we commemorate the 500th anniversary of composer John Dowland’s death, in the atmospherically alluring Holy Trinity Church, with a lute and voice recital by Elizabeth Kenny and Nicholas Mulroy. The timbered Merchant Adventurer’s Hall is among the best-preserved medieval guildhalls in England, and is the site of both a 16th-century programme by the acclaimed Rose Consort of Viols, and our final gala dinner.

Like all our festivals, the concerts are private occasions, with access exclusive to those who take the full package, which includes accommodation, dinners, talks by Professor John Bryan, transport to each venue and much else besides, all carefully curated with every other element in mind.' 

You can find out more about the festival and book your place to join on Martin Randall Travel's website, via the link below.