Summer Music in City Churches: Let Us Garlands Bring

In the magnificent setting of Wren’s most lavish restoration - the church of St Lawrence Jewry - husband and wife musicians Thomas Humphreys (baritone) and Raya Kostova (piano) perform an evocative and romantic programme in this early evening concert. The English composers featured were direct contemporaries (1870s-1960s) and in this recital we hear their magically lyrical settings of Shakespeare songs along with poems by some of our favourite poets, from Emily Brontë to Robert Louis Stevenson.

Summer Music in City Churches is a fledgling festival, founded in 2018, presenting beautiful music to inspire, divert and engage, in ancient and architecturally stunning churches in London's Square Mile. Standing cheek by jowl with City offices, these churches are glorious settings in which to listen and reflect: oases of history, beauty and peace amidst the 24-7 hurly-burly of City life.

The theme for the second festival in June 2019 is Words and Music. During a week and a half of events, you will find sumptuous settings of poetry, lyrical music inspired by poetry, plays and literature, words that illuminate music with biographical insight and context, music of significance to literary heroes and heroines, and more: a lyrical celebration.