Owre Kynge Went Forth

Tickets prices:
£10 full
£8 student/OAP (concessions available online only)

Featuring:
Emily Baines – Shawm, Recorders, Bagpipes
Lizzie Gutteridge – Shawm, Recorder, Fiddles, Bagpipes
Arngeir Hauksson – Gitterns, Percussion
Belinda Paul – Shawm, Recorder Bagpipes
and
Anthony Taylor – Actor

This programme, commissioned by the Agincourt600 Committee to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the battle, features music which was nearly all composed (or at least written down) in the lifetime of Henry V of England (1387-1422). It divides into broad sections depicting various important stages in his life from his wild youth to his mature kingship, from the battle to his marriage to Catherine de Valois and the treaty which followed, an attempt at peace in the middle of the Hundred Years War. The texts are taken from three sources: Holinshed’s Chronicles, Shakespeare’s ‘Henry V’ and ‘The Archer’s Story’, a one man play by Esmond Knight, who played Fluellen in Laurence Olivier’s film of play. The spoken texts narrate the story of the battle, its build-up and aftermath from different points of view. The music chosen for each section either has a textual connection or illustrates the character of the particular scene through its compositional characteristics. Not to seem partisan, we feature music from both sides of the channel, since there were many close connections between the musical styles of the English, French and Burgundian courts. The music is all played instrumentally, keeping the narrative within the spoken text. You will hear from four characters, the Historical Chronicler, the King, the Storyteller (Shakespeare’s Chorus character) and a humble Archer, swept up by intoxicating political rhetoric to fight in France with Henry’s army.

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