Playing, singing and dancing to all the 17 instruments depicted in the famous Luttrell Psalter.
Dunster Castle, Somerset.
18:30
Organiser: de Mowbray's Musicke
If the Thursday performance sells out, please contact the venue as another perormance will be added on the previous day, Wednesday 23rd.
Come with us on a musical journey back to England in the Middle Ages.
Enjoy the splendid sounds of their loud musical instruments, as well as some quiet ones too! Learn how they work and were made.
Listen to some lovely Medieval songs, and even join in!
Enjoy seeing a group of three talented musicians, singers and dancers in their fine Medieval costumes.
Learn about the life and estate of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell who lived in the 1200s and 1300s. He commissioned a beautiful book of prayers and the psalms. It has been described as ‘England’s most significant Medieval manuscript’. It’s in the British Library. On most of its over 600 pages there are scenes of Medieval life, beautifully illustrated in the margins’.
The psalter's significance to musicians is that the book contains images of 17 different musical instruments, and in this concert you will see and hear all of those different instruments. During the interval you will be able to see the group’s own folio copy of the psalter as well as see these instruments close up and learn how they were made and used.
The Luttrell family lived in Somerset from the early 1200s when Sir Geoffrey Luttrell – great, great grandfather to the commissioner of the psalter – married Frethesant Paynell and through that marriage the Luttrell family acquired a number of estates throughout the country, including that at East Quantockshead. Towards the end of the 1300s Lady Elizabeth Luttrell bought Dunster Castle from Joan de Mohun after her husband died.
A recent member of their audience said of this show:
'That was a really good thing you did last night - I don't want to call it a gig, a show, a presentation - what you do is more interesting, fun, stirring, insightful than any of those would suggest. I loved the layers of it: the costumes, your combined knowledge, skill and humility, sense of humour, interaction with the audience; all three of you convey your own interest and delight in the history, the music, the lifestyle - the importance of the psalter itself as a thing of beauty as well as a document of history.'
A journey back in time. This is one concert not to be missed.
de Mowbray's Musicke are a specialist group of musicians and dancers, and work extensively throughout the country at historical sites and events. They blend knowledge and musical abilities with a great sense of fun and entertainment. You will not find a better chance to immerse yourself back in the Middle Ages.