Newsletter No 19: Tenor James Robinson – Buckingham Summer Festival – BBC Music Magazine

“Due to unforeseen circumstances” is a phrase I now read with a raised eyebrow, a wry chuckle, and the knowledge of how much worry this can cause a small company. Due to our own “unforeseen circumstance” these last couple of months, we will be seeing a new face in the cast of Art Sung – Edith Sitwell at the next performance on Monday 1st July, 8pm at the Buckingham Summer Festival.

We are extremely lucky and very grateful to tenor James Robinson for jumping in at the last minute to replace our replacement tenor! James is in great demand with many of the country’s top ensembles, including Dunedin Consort, Solomon’s Knot, Ex Cathedra, Tenebrae, BBC singers, The Sixteen, and Siglo de Oro. He has also worked in Europe with Ars Nova Copenhagen, Le Concert D’Astree, and Theatre of Voices. As a soloist, he recently performed the Evangelist in St Matthew Passion with the Britten Sinfonia, and the St John Passion with Nivalis Barokk in Norway, as well as in Birmingham Symphony Hall with Ex Cathedra and Birmingham Baroque. Other recent solo projects include a recording of Michael Haydn’s Requiem with the Academy of Ancient Music.

The performance in Buckingham is also another opportunity to see the original Façade curtain created by the English sculptor Frank Dobson in 1922 for the very first performance of Façade by poet Edith Sitwell and composer William Walton. The first time it was seen in public in over 30 years was at our performance in March at the Barnes Music Festival.

The music critic Michael White was at the performance in Barnes and wrote a piece for the June edition of BBC Music magazine.

This can be viewed on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and on our website – https://www.artsung.com/2024/06/20/art-sung-in-june-edition-2024-bbc-music-magazine/