Letting in the Light: from Rameau’s Pygmalion & Wagner’s Parsifal to Christian Forshaw, Anna Semple and Schumann’s Kerner Lieder at Temple Music

Temple Music has announced an intriguing range of events for 2025, with everything from Rameau and Wagnerian opera to song recitals from Helen Charlston and Roderick Williams. Things kick of in January 2025 with Handel’s Solomon with Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli Consort & Players with Tim Mead, Rowan Pierce, Anna Dennis, Hilary Cronin and Frances Gregory (this was announced as part of their Autumn 2024 season).

Conductor Peter Selwyn and director Julia Burbach (who brought us the Grimeborn Ring Cycle) are at the helm for a staging of Act Three of Wagner’s Parsifal with Neal Cooper as Parsifal, Natasha Jouhl as Kundry, Simon Wilding as Amfortas and Freddie Tong as Gurnemanz. The opera will be given in Temple Church using a 35 piece orchestra. At the other end of the operatic scale, Christian Curnyn and the Early Opera Company are presenting Rameau’s Pygmalion, with Samuel Boden, Hilary Cronin, Jessica Cale and Lauren Lodge-Campbell, preceded by a suite of music from Les Boreades.

Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston is joined by pianist Sholto Kynoch for Note for Old, a recital that weaves together music by Bach, Monteverdi and Sweelinck with Schubert, Hahn, and Anna Semple, followed by Schumann’s Kerner Lieder. Baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Julius Drake return to Middle Temple Hall for Eternal Summer, an evening of songs and readings from Shakespeare with music from Purcell, Haydn, Schumann to Britten, Tippett, and one of Williams’ own songs.

In recital, Guitarist Plínio Fernandes will be performing Bach alongside, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Paulinho Nogueira, Mário Albanese and Sérgio Assad, violinist Sophie Rosa and pianist Martin Roscoe perform Beethoven’s Spring Sonata and Franck’s Violin Sonata

Stile Antico are performing a programme centred around Palestrina and his contemporaries, Thomas Allery directs Temple Singers in programme of arrangements and re-imaginings of music from ancient chant, through Renaissance polyphony to Barber’s own arrangement of his Adagio for Strings, including music by Anna Semple, who is Temple’s featured emerging composer, and saxophonist Christian Forshaw joins the Choir of King’s College London for Sanctuary, presenting works from Forshaw’s acclaimed album.

The season closes in July with Temple Church Choir, director Thomas Allery in Marian music by Grieg, Giles Swayne, Bruckner, Tavener, Howells and Parsons.

Full details from the Temple Music website.