Mezzo-soprano: Carris Jones
New Paths is thrilled that Carris Jones sings in the 2018 festival. We are honoured to have the history-making mezzo-soprano on the roster. In 2017 Carris ‘broke a glass ceiling’ by becoming the first full-time female singer in the choir of St Paul’s Cathedral. Read the story here. We are proud that Carris is the latest in a line of brilliant musicians from St Paul’s appearing in the festival (in our inaugural year Simon Johnson, the organist of the cathedral gave the recital ‘…A la mémoire…’ and last year bass baritone Edward Grint, a colleague of Carris in the cathedral choir, sang in A Retrospective).
Carris is singing some stunning songs in the festival. Hear her sing:
- ‘The Seal Man’ by Rebecca Clarke in Stories and Sagas on Thursday 5th April
- Britten’s ‘Cabaret Songs’ and Thomas Hyde’s ‘Larkin Songs’ in Larkin’ About on Thursday 5th April
- the world premiere of Diana Burrell’s ‘Two English Folk Songs’ in Footsteps Through the Snow on Thursday 5th April
- ‘Efterskord’ by Stenhammar in Viking Virtuosity on Friday 6th April
- Folksongs arranged by Britten in At Sixes and Sevens on Friday 6th April
- ‘King David’ by Howells in Songs of Praise on Sunday 7th April
This news item is published during World Women’s Week 2018. And so it is perhaps striking that the first song on the list – The Seal Man by Rebecca Clarke – is based on a Celtic myth which reverses the genders of the Greek myth of the Sirens. The legend is of a seal who takes on the form of a man in order to lure women to their death in the sea.
Don’t miss tales of mermen and so much more in Beverley this spring!
Libby & Roland live on BBC Radio Humberside
BBC Radio Humberside presenters Lizzie Rose and Carl Wheatley interviewed Libby and Roland live on the Breakfast show this morning, chatting about the New Paths project with Freddie’s School in Hull which begins today. Hollywood composer David Buckley has written a new piece for children at the school to perform in the festival, entitled Viking Voyage. New Paths musicians will be working with the children over the coming weeks, ably guided by the Patrick Plunkett from the school and Mark Pybus, who has co-ordinated the project. The whole school has entered into the Viking spirit, with storytelling and artwork inspired by the festival’s 2018 Nordic theme. Freddie’s is an all-age community special school for pupils with severe physical disabilities and those with profound and multiple needs, and the students will perform on Saturday 7th April as part of the Musical Takeover of the Town.
You can listen to the radio interview, featuring extracts of Viking Voyage, here:
