The Telling

The Telling 'breaks new ground' (The Guardian), where (often early) music and new writing collide. They tour high-quality, accessible and affordable productions, combining engagements by leading promoters with self-promotions in locations that are often excluded from touring circuits.
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Their creative team is led by Artistic Director/award-winning playwright/retired soprano Clare Norburn and BAFTA-nominated director Nicholas Renton, and they work with a pool of leading actors and acclaimed musicians, many of whom are early music specialists.

​​'Clare Norburn takes moments in history to make us understand the present more clearly' – Robin Soans, playwright​
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In 2024, The Telling won the prestigious Audience Participation of the Year Award organised by the European Early Music organisation, REMA, for their Songs and Stories project in partnership with animateur Sarah Atter and Wolverhampton Refugee and Migrant Centre. In 2022, The Telling was shortlisted for two other REMA Awards.
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They have performed for a range of venues and promoters, including Beverley Early Music Festival, Brighton Early Music Festival, Buxton International Music Festival, Music at Oxford, Oxford Festival of the Arts, English Music Festival, Music@Malling, Anvil Arts, Lake District Summer Music, Newbury Spring Festival, Conwy Classical Music Festival, Stoke Newington Early Music Festival, Little Missenden Festival, Keele Concerts Society, Bedford Music Club, Music in the Village (Walthamstow), Stranraer Music For All, New Vic Theatre and Arena Theatre. They also regularly perform week runs at OSO Arts Centre, Barnes.
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'[the singers] are mesmerising in the music' – Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 2020
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The Telling records for First Hand Records: their first CD, Gardens of Delight, was selected for BBC Music Magazine’s playlist in April 2019, and their second CD, Secret Life of Carols, reached No. 25 in the Classical Charts in December 2019. David Mellor (Classic FM/Daily Mail) called it his 'absolute favourite' 2019 Christmas album, and it was in The Guardian, BBC Music Magazine, The Daily Mail and Classic FM's 'Best Christmas Albums' lists.
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'imaginative and eclectic' – Fiona Maddocks, The Guardian on Secret Life of Carols CD
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Their most recent CD consists of the soundtracks of their Vision (Hildegard of Bingen) and Unsung Heroine (Beatriz de Dia) concertplays, released in 2022 in memory of mezzo Ariane Prüssner, and received a four-star review from BBC Music Magazine.