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Stile Antico ©Marco Borggreve.
Stile Antico - Tour around Renaissance Europe
Tour highlights
- Award-winning choral ensemble Stile Antico presents four concerts over the course of three days, taking you on a journey through Renaissance Europe – Italy, Spain, England and the Low Countries.
- The setting for all four concerts is Lavenham’s beautiful Grade I listed parish church of St Peter & St Paul, dating from 1485.
- Interwoven through each performance will be spoken introductions on the music, given by the singers themselves.
- Choose from two exceptionally comfortable and charming hotels in Lavenham: The Swan Hotel, or the Great House.
- Our package also includes breakfasts, afternoon teas and dinners in your hotel.
- Tickets to individual concerts are also available to purchase, for those who live locally.
Stile Antico is an ensemble of young British singers who are now established as one of the most original and exciting voices in the field. The group performs regularly throughout Europe and North America and its recordings have received major awards including the Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Working without a conductor, they rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing to the musical result. Their performances have repeatedly been praised for their vitality, expressiveness and imaginative response to the text.
Their programme of four concerts takes the audience on a musical tour around Renaissance Europe, beginning in Italy and ending in Spain, via the Low Countries and England. Within this, each concert will take you on its own self-contained journey, exploring different cities, figures or perspectives from the era.
For this inaugural choral variant of our ‘Chamber Music Breaks’ in the UK, our audience will take over two hotels in the small Suffolk market town of Lavenham. An almost completely medieval town, Lavenham’s timber-framed buildings were preserved by the 500-year slump which followed a burst of prosperity in the wool trade in the 15th century. The result is one of the delights of England.
All four concerts will be held in Lavenham’s Church of St Peter & St Paul, which has a decorated chancel dating to the early 14th century and a perpendicular nave begun in 1486, famous for its homogeneity and beauty and one of the most perfect manifestations of the style. The fine furnishings include misericords, chancel screen and an exceptional pair of chantry chapels.
Practicalities
The Swan at Lavenham
Double for sole use: A$2,600
Superior double for sole use: A$2,770
Standard double (two sharing): A$2,330
Superior double (two sharing): A$2,530
Junior suite (two sharing): A$2,700
Suite (two sharing): A$2,860
The Great House, Lavenham
Standard double (two sharing): A$3,250
Four concerts, accommodation for two nights, breakfasts and two dinners in your hotel, two afternoon teas at The Swan, interval drinks, programme, tips for hotel staff.
Tickets to individual concerts: £30 mornings; £35 evenings. Interval refreshments and a programme are included. To book, click here or contact us.
An inn since 1667, The Swan spreads through a number of contiguous half-timber buildings which date to the 15th and 16th centuries.
Refurbishment of the rooms has retained their historical character – wooden beams, uneven floors, casement windows – and the modern insertions have been designed with taste and restraint. Most of the en-suite bathrooms have a bath with shower attachment (only one room has a walk-in shower).
Facilities include a bar, extensive lounges, brasserie and a good restaurant. Service is of a high standard. The hotel’s car park is on Hall Road, c. 2 minutes’ walk from its front door, and is free of charge.
The Swan is located c. 5 minutes’ walk from St Peter & St Paul’s Church.
A small, five-bedroom hotel situated on the market square, The Great House is the smartest place to stay in Lavenham. It was built in the 14th and 15th centuries and the façade added in the 18th century.
Rooms are smart, contemporary and comfortable with all mod cons including a minibar and tea and coffee making facilities.
The historic nature of the building means that creaky, uneven floorboards and low doorways are a feature, as well as steps. There is no lift.
Public areas are limited – there is a restaurant and bar (within the restaurant), but no lounge. Wireless internet is available free of charge. There is free parking in the market square and in the surrounding streets.
The Great House is located c. 8 minutes’ walk from St Peter & St Paul’s Church.
All rooms are double occupancy.
Travelling options
Transport to and from this event is not provided. The nearest train station is Sudbury, a c. 10-minute taxi ride from Lavenham (to get here from London currently, take a train from Liverpool Street and change at Marks Tey). There is ample free parking in the centre of Lavenham for those arriving by car.
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