Please note, we will not be operating a box office on the day for this event, so all tickets must be booked in advance.
A real treat of lovers of Tudor history, and Anne Boleyn in particular, this concert takes its inspiration and title from the work by American composer Libby Larsen, based on the final letters and gallows speeches of the first five wives of Henry VIII, mere metres from where two of them met their fate by beheading.
It’s paired with Julian Philips’ setting of texts by the great Tudor poet Sir Thomas Wyatt, who was rumoured to be infatuated with the Queen, leading to his imprisonment in the Tower. The programme is completed by music from the Tudor court – sung by the Choir of the Chapels Royal, under their Music Director Colm Carey – and new poetry by Rachel Long, A Necklace for Anne Boleyn, read by Vanessa Kisuule.
John Taverner Dum transisset Sabbatu
Julian Philips Sorrowfull Songes
Libby Larsen Try Me, Good King
Anne Boleyn O Death Rock Me Asleep
Thomas Tallis Gaude gloriosa Dei Mater
Anna Dennis soprano
John Reid piano
Vanessa Kisuule narrator
Dr Colm Carey conductor
The Choir of the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London
Duration: 85 minutes
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Piano provided with the support of