The Alehouse Sessions

Product Information

This made it more difficult for musicians to bring their instruments 4, but the demand for entertainment at the drinking houses was high, so instead people started performing vocal music like part-songs, catches and canons. Post-restoration Speaking on the project, Bjarte Eike said: “The signature of this project is the interaction on stage between the players and the audience. It must have been an incredible atmosphere in these places – overflowing with music, alcohol, sex, gossip, fights, fumes, shouting, singing, laughing, dancing… not unlike our live versions of the Alehouse Sessions.

Pepys’ telling of his first meeting with orange juice is rather amusing: …and here, which I never did before, I drank a glass, of a pint I believe, at one draught, of the juice of Oranges of whose peel they make comfits; and they drink the juice as wine, with sugar, and it is a very fine drink; but it being new, I was doubtful whether it might not do me hurt.. Everyone that has been involved in the project throughout the years, has experienced musical and personal developments through the way we work and test ideas. We have initiated our own workshops where we gather in some remote place and work with improvisation, choir singing, rhythmical exercises, dancing and, most importantly, strengthening the friendship through cooking, drinking and gossiping. Before 1660, the most common music-making in the pubs would be predominated by drinking songs, bawdy catches and ballads, and simple instrumental music played by fiddlers and fifers. one place in Berkshire, England it has been recorded that between 1611 and 1618 an average of 6 to 8 pints of beer were consumed per person – every day On September 23, visitors to the Southbank Centre will have the chance to live through the elevated status of the tavern, and get a feel for the 17th Century Alehouses through the means of music. Image: Theresa PewalEven if the music, the stories and the dances get their inspiration from historical events, the project has now developed into being the essence of what the Barokksolistene’s operation aims to be – a creative energy center, where powerful, virtuosic individuals meet to create something unique, time-less, actual and genre-breaking – something that resonates with a modern and diverse audience.

Talk to a member of staff at the auditorium entrance if you have a disability that means you can’t queue, or you need extra time to take your seat. They can arrange priority entry for you as soon as the doors open. This was a different kind of baroque music – the popular ballads, not ceremonial masses, coronations and weddings. It made me explore further books on English drinking establishments and what happened when Cromwell introduced prohibition. I realised that we couldn’t just play English music and not consider where it was performed. The public house is such an integral part of the English culture – it’s neutral ground, regardless of age or sex – it’s a place to escape reality where chatting and gossiping thrive. And so in 2008, when I was engaged as the artist in residence at the Bergen international Festival, one of the programmes I presented was the Alehouse Sessions. With the outbreak of the English Civil Wars in 1642, the Puritans had the Commonwealth parliament closing all theatres. The music masters of London’s churches and courts were scattered and left to fend for themselves. A smattering of Purcell, dances from Playford’s Dancing Master, shanties, reels and ballads succumb to a nine-piece ensemble drawing on Baroque, jazz and folk styles for a no holds barred hooley of riotous improvisatory give and take,’ (BBC Music Magazine review of The Alehouse Sessions, August 2019) By 1630 there were registered more than 30.000 alehouses, 2000 Inns and 400 taverns in England and Wales.

I see the alehouse sessions more as a creative room that I keep refurbishing, rather than a fixed project or concept. It started as a fun, clever musical idea – fitting a festival with an English theme – but has now become something more profound; it’s all about the individuals that contribute on stage, with everyone being outstanding soloists and team-players, and how we have all invested ourselves in the project. You can also use the external lift near the Artists' Entrance on Southbank Centre Square to reach Mandela Walk, Level 2. This diversion from the traditional concert model is what is at the heart of the Sessions. Through the medium of these well-loved tunes, a story of the period is interwoven into the music making; creating a unique environment between audience and performer. These sessions have already been hailed as ‘irresistible’ The Times, ‘superb’ The Scotsman and ‘fabulously unrestrained’ The Guardian, and they have diverted away from the traditional concert model by ‘creating the effect of a late night jamming session’ BBC Music Magazine. I launched the project in 2007, as a concert-form where the music found in the English public-houses during and after the Commonwealth was explored. It was an immediate success and has gained popularity with audiences and promoters within a wide field of music. Ever since 2007, the project has been in constant development.