So, What IS Early Music?

PART 1 - round table discussion with Peter Holman, Aimée Taylor and Lucine Musaelian

Professor Peter Holman MBE studied at King's College, London, with Thurston Dart, one of the most significant figures of the 20th-century early music movement. Peter's career as a conductor, keyboard player, musicologist, writer and broadcaster has spanned many decades. He is therefore an ideal person to communicate 'what is early music' to newcomers, while also offering fascinating insights to those who are familiar with this genre.

Aimée Taylor read music at Oxford before studying the flute in Paris and at the Royal College of Music in London. She is currently working on a PhD on the philosophy of historical music performance with Colin Lawson at the RCM. Aimee is intrigued by questions posed by historical music performance: 'What exactly are we doing and why are we doing it?'

Lucine Musaelian is an Armenian-American singer, viola da gamba player and composer. She studied at Yale University, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and the Royal Academy of Music, where she co-founded Intesa Duo. Lucine is an exceptionally creative musician who collaborates with performers across many genres. Her interests include ancient Armenian music and self-accompaniment in early music.

PART II - Just a Minuet

In an entertaining Early Music take on the Radio 4 panel game, four articulate musicians from the early music world will attempt to speak for 1 minute on subjects given by show host Daniel Thomson. Daniel performed at SNEMF with ensemble Rune last July. He will be returning with Dowland's Foundry on 6th February.

Instead of Chopin's Minute Waltz, harpsichordist Freddie Waxman will play Minute Minuets, Galliards & Sarabandes on the Kirckmann model harpsichord recently completed by local maker Huw Saunders.

The four panellists will be:
Paula Chateauneuf, who performed at SNEMF 2023
Peter McCarthy of Music in the Village, Walthamstow
Sam Brown, who will be performing at SNEMF on 6th February 2026
Tatty Theo of Brook Street Band, who performed at SNEMF 2022