The Alehouse Sessions

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Talk to a member of staff at the auditorium entrance if you have a disability that means you can’t queue, or you need extra time to take your seat. They can arrange priority entry for you as soon as the doors open. Pepys’ telling of his first meeting with orange juice is rather amusing: …and here, which I never did before, I drank a glass, of a pint I believe, at one draught, of the juice of Oranges of whose peel they make comfits; and they drink the juice as wine, with sugar, and it is a very fine drink; but it being new, I was doubtful whether it might not do me hurt.. The Alehouse Sessions – curated and devised by Bjarte Eike – is an ever changing and evolving insight into the music of the English 17th Century tavern. It gives audiences a window into this tumultuous period through Purcell overtures, English sea shanties, and raucous Scandinavian and Canadian folk songs thrown in for good measure. In 17th century England, Oliver Cromwell moved to close all the theatres and concert venues- forcing the musicians, actors, and dancers off the stages and into any number of “alternative” venues. In 1630, there were registered more than 30,000 alehouses, 2,000 inns and 400 taverns in England and Wales. These were the new homes for the artists of the day.

Anyway, in case you were wondering if we were just a bunch of males with a mid-life crisis, we also have a gorgeous cameo appearance from soprano Mary Bevan singing irresistible Purcell. A smattering of Purcell, dances from Playford’s Dancing Master, shanties, reels and ballads succumb to a nine-piece ensemble drawing on Baroque, jazz and folk styles for a no holds barred hooley of riotous improvisatory give and take,’ (BBC Music Magazine review of The Alehouse Sessions, August 2019) Before 1660, the most common music-making in the pubs would be predominated by drinking songs, bawdy catches and ballads, and simple instrumental music played by fiddlers and fifers. Speaking on the project, Bjarte Eike said: “The signature of this project is the interaction on stage between the players and the audience.This made it more difficult for musicians to bring their instruments 4, but the demand for entertainment at the drinking houses was high, so instead people started performing vocal music like part-songs, catches and canons. Post-restoration Eike and Barokksolistene bring the camaraderie of the period, the artistry and the connection between musicians and the audience to life in this production, filmed on location at Battersea Arts Centre and The George Inn, Southwark. In this exclusive video clip to The Strad,Norwegian violinist and the Barokksolistene perform Wallom Green from The Alehouse Sessions. First an album from 2017 as well as a series of performances, The Alehouse Sessionshas now been turned into a film for television, to be broadcast on BBC Four on 23 April.

By 1630 there were registered more than 30.000 alehouses, 2000 Inns and 400 taverns in England and Wales.Some went to the country-side serving as light entertainment for the aristocracy and tutoring their children, some joined the military³ and some church musicians stayed in London to become teachers. My masters, are you mad?… Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night? Do ye make an ale-house of my lady’s house, that ye squeak your cozier’s catches without any mitigation or remorse of voice?” Civil war/Commonwealth It was this idea which acted as the catalyst for creating the Alehouse Sessions, which has now caught the keen eye of filmmaker Dominic Best, who will be bringing us to your screens on BBC4 on Sunday 23 April.