Spanish Embassy sponsors Beverley Early Music Festival

The National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) has announced that the Embassy of Spain will sponsor this year’s Beverley Early Music Festival. The embassy willparticularly support the festival’s opening concert, which this year will be given by Spanish ensemble El Gran Teatro del Mundo.

The concert, which will take place in St Mary’s Church, Beverley, this evening. Is based around the theme of Life is a Dream (la vida es sueño), focusing on the life and times of the Sun King, France’s King Louis XIV.

NCEM director Delma Tomlin MBE said: ‘This is the first time we have received sponsorship from the Embassy of Spain, London and we are absolutely delighted to be working together to promote Spanish music through the ages. The Embassy’s generous financial support – supporting the travel costs from Spain - makes all the difference and we are thrilled to be able to welcome such fabulous musicians to perform here in the East Riding of Yorkshire.’

Taking place this weekend (24-26 May), this year’s festival is centred around the theme of ‘Threads of Gold’, drawing parallels between Beverley’s remarkable history and Spanish early music. Other Spain-centric concerts include Tenebrae’s interpretation of Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Requiem hosted at Beverley Minster, and group The Telling which presents its music theatre show Into the Melting Pot exploring the stories of the women forced to flee from medieval Spain due to religious intolerance.

The Embassy of Spain’s minister counsellor for cultural and scientific affairs José María Robles Fraga said: ‘This newly stablished partnership provides a unique opportunity for Spanish musicians performing in the UK. We are very proud to support this initiative and we are confident that audiences at the Beverley Early Music Festival will enjoy the inmense talent of this Spanish ensemble’.