Brighton Early Music Festival Returns at Full Strength for 2023

After three years of disruption, experimentation, and adapting to circumstances, Brighton Early Music Festival returns this autumn in full pre-pandemic style with more than 20 events during September and October 2023.

Artistic Director Deborah Roberts says: “Finally we are back as a full autumn festival after some challenging years! It was interesting to experiment with spreading our activities throughout the seasons but, by popular demand, our main focus now returns to three October weekends. Come and join us!”

Taking place in a variety of venues across the city, the main festival events run Friday 13 – Saturday 28 October 2023. Highlights include:

• The Gesualdo Six and Fretwork with immersive music drama Secret Byrd directed by Bill Barclay (13 October)
• BBC Music Magazine award-winners Helen Charlston and Toby Carr celebrating women in history (21 October) and 
• The Whispering Dome – a large-scale multi media event bringing together music from Europe, Morocco and West Africa (15 October)

The Festival will also be hosting its annual showcase of up and coming early music ensembles (21 October) and welcoming back several ensembles including Ensemble Hesperi and Fieri Consort who have been part of the young artist scheme in previous years.

Before the main Festival, a series of pre-events run from 16 September offering opportunities to take part in choral and instrumental workshops (16 & 30 September), or bring the whole family for OAE TOTS family concerts (7 October) or a ceilidh celebrating the music of John Playford’s The English Dancing Master (30 September). 

BREMF will be popping up around the city too, with free performances of music by William Byrd (23 September) and a baroque-ground-bass-meets-jazz fusion event (12 October).

Tickets start at £5, and are free for under-12s & half price for 12-25s, students and benefit recipients and go on general sale on 31 July following priority booking for Festival Friends.

Browse the full festival programme and book tickets (from 31 July) at www.bremf.org.uk/whats-on

Cathy Boyes

Festival Producer, Brighton Early Music Festival