Emily Baines recorders, bagpipes, voice
Arngeir Hauksson gitterns, lute, percussion, symphonie
Members of St Cuthbert’s Church Choir

Meditatio
This evocative programme invites listeners into a world of devotion, landscape and quiet wonder, inspired by the life of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. At its heart are chants dedicated to the saint that have not been heard in nearly 1,000 years – music in essence shaped by prayer, solitude, and the ebb and flow of the North Sea. Instrumental and vocal works from later in the Medieval Age reveal how meditative sound continued to unfold across centuries and continents.

Tickets:£12/restricted view £8 (concessions £6)

OFFER: £2 off full price when booked with 7.30pm Lumas Winds concert (discount applied at checkout).

Beth Stone flute
Chris Vettraino oboe
Rennie Sutherland clarinet
Flo Plane bassoon
Benjamin Hartnell-Booth French horn

Bernstein (arr. Don Stewart) - Overture to ‘Candide’
Holst - Wind Quintet in A flat, Op.14
Françaix - Wind Quartet (1933)
Zemlinsky - Humoreske (1939)
Ibert - Trois Pièces Brèves (1930)
Ligeti - Six Bagatelles (1953)
J.S. Bach (arr. Rechtman) - Organ Concerto No.2 in A minor, BWV593
Arnold - Three Shanties Op.4

The members of Lumas Winds are committed ambassadors for wind chamber music and the rich variety of repertoire it offers. As winners of the 71st Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensemble Prize, and regularly featuring at festivals and music clubs up and down the UK, they have earned a reputation as dynamic and engaging concert hosts, and praised for being an “effervescent wind quintet, lively in their performance style and enterprising in their choice of repertoire” (Seen and Heard International).

The ensemble’s high-octane programme for Paxton is packed with a sparkling mix of lively mid-20th century pieces, contrasting with the calm beauty and elegance of works by Bach and Holst.

"Really impressive … one to watch” BBC Radio 3 Record Review

Tickets: £25 (concessions £15)

OFFER: £2 off full price for Amyas Ensemble afternoon concert when booked together (discount applied at checkout).

LIMITED AVAILABILITY

From the Forest of Dean to the Appalachians:Songs by Ina Boyle, Ivor Gurney, John Ireland, Elaine Hugh-Jones, Herbert Howells, Michael Head, Douglas Weiland, Anthony Payne, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Charles Villiers Stanford, Arthur Bliss and African American Spirituals (arr. Roderick Williams)

Roddy and Iain have devised a wonderful programme that transports us across land, seas and time, shining a reflective light on an age before and after the turn of the 20th century. Their prime focus is on the ‘Dymock Poets’, a group of friends – including Edward Thomas and Rupert Brooke – who lived near the Gloucestershire village in the years leading up to the First World War and who welcomed the great American poet Robert Frost into their midst during his extended trip to England. It is his work that provides the bridge to American forebears and contemporaries Walt Whitman and Edna St Vincent Millay.

There is much beauty in evocative poems of rural life, but the shadows of injustice, war and servitude are never far away. It is no wonder that so many great composers have been moved to write songs to the arresting words of these poets, and this programme offers a compelling sequence that gives a vision of life 100 years ago that nevertheless still has resonances in our modern, contrary world.

"a perceptive and highly skilled partnership” MusicWeb International

Tickets: £34/£27 (concessions £19/£16)

OFFER: Free entry to Saturday morning Masterclass when booked at the same time (discount applied at checkout).

Roddy’s rich tone and his unsurpassed skill in communicating song texts marks out his song recitals as compelling experiences. In this masterclass with young singers beginning their musical careers, he and Iain share their insights on interpretation and presentation.

We would like to thank Samling Institute for Young Artists, Dunedin Consort, and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for proposing the young singers who are participating in this event.

"Always getting to the emotional core, Williams again proved what a remarkable artist he is” The Guardian

Tickets: £10 (concessions Free)

OFFER: Free entry to this Masterclass for Friday night concert ticket holders if booked at the same time.

Rachel is a lever harpist from Aberdeenshire and is BBC Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2026.

Rooted in Scottish traditional music, she draws on influences from classical, jazz and global folk styles as a platform for exploring the rich textural range of her instrument.

With free entry young people under 26 and accompanied children, this event is suitable for all the family. Presented in association with Live Music Now Scotland.

"It’s rare to find such engaging composition paired with such effortless joy” Maeve Gilchrist, Scottish lever harpist.

Tickets: £10 (concessions Free)

Charlotte Spruit violin
Edgar Francis viola
Hugh Mackay cello
Junyan Chen piano

Bridge - Phantasy Quartet in F Sharp minor, H.94
Schumann - Piano Quartet in E Flat, Op.47
Fauré - Piano Quartet No.1 in C minor, Op.15

Ensemble Jackalope brings an invigorating brilliance to the Piano Quartet repertoire.

Frank Bridge’s 1910 quartet packs immense energy into a rich, concise framework that stylistically owes much to German and French influences, while Fauré’s expansive and ardent work has an emotional direction that some commentators have attributed to the rise and subsequent demise of his first romance. Schumann’s Quartet was enthusiastically welcomed on its première in 1844 as “a piece full of spirit and vitality … with soaring flights of imagination”.

With thanks to the generous support of The Marchus Trust.

POST CONCERT: Stay for a short informal Q&A immediately after the concert

Tickets: £10 (concessions Free)

OFFER: £2 off full price tickets for Hugh Mackay Sunday morning concert when booked together (discount applied at checkout).

J.S Bach
Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV1008
Cello Suite No.3 in C, BWV1009

Born in 2000 in the Scottish Borders and educated at St Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh, Hugh is rapidly establishing a fine reputation as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe. He has an established partnership with pianist Junyan Chen, winner of Second Prize and Chamber Music Award at Leeds International Piano Competition 2024, and he is currently a chamber music scholar at Villa Musica Landesstiftung in Germany, performing alongside world-leading musicians and emerging artists.

"[The cello suites] are the very essence of Bach” Pablo Casals

Tickets: £12 (concessions £6)

OFFER: £2 off full price when booked with Ensemble Jackalope concert.

SOLD OUT

J.S Bach - Partita No.5 in G, BWV829
Schumann - Piano Sonata No.2 in G minor, Op.22
Couperin - ‘From the Sixième Ordre’
Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin

We are thrilled to welcome internationally-acclaimed pianist Angela Hewitt to Paxton for our festival finale. Her programme is especially apt as the beautiful Paxton Picture Gallery takes on a new lease of life as the Ballroom – historic dance forms and celebration are the essence and inspiration of the featured works.

Dance rhythms lie at the very heart of many of Bach’s compositions, as the Partita No.5 in G demonstrates so well. Schumann’s Piano Sonata in G Minor was written the year after his marriage to Clara, and it was at her insistence that he produced a virtuoso work with irresistible momentum and passion.

François Couperin held positions at the Royal Court of King Louis XIV of France both as organist and harpsichordist, and his compositions for the latter explore a wide range of dance-styles with supreme elegance and wit. Ravel’s ‘Tombeau de Couperin’ is a tribute to French Baroque keyboard styles generally, with its six movements imitating a dance suite that can be summarised as ‘light-hearted reflection’.

"superb ... as if we are hearing this music for the first time" Bachtrack

Sponsored by Neville and Kathleen Cartwright.

Tickets: £34/£27 (concessions £19/£16)

Enjoy a pre-concert light salad buffet from local caterer Catered by Courtney, served in the Paxton House Stables Tearoom. Price includes a complimentary drink from our festival bar and post-supper tea and coffee. Spaces limited and MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE by the 13th July. Vegetarian option available. For other dietary requirements, including vegan and gluten free, please select 'other' and email your name and requirements to info@musicatpaxton.co.uk by the cut off date.

For enquiries and further information contact us on 07594 224992 / info@musicatpaxton.co.uk

This booking page is for the 25th July supper. To book for Saturday 18th please click here