With more than 20 events ranging from 17th-century songs woven around the words of Oscar Wilde, to a reflective SongPath walk led by mezzo-soprano Joanna Harries as well as Emerging Artists performing in a Showcase, relaxed pub concerts, and the UK premiere of a concert version of 1736 French baroque opera by Mademoiselle Duval. Elsewhere a wide range of community projects which support local young and amateur musicians from BHASVIC sixth form college; local primary schools, plus events for families and participatory workshops.
This year marks the first for two new Co-Artistic Directors Hannah Ely and Olwen Foulkes: They commented: “This year’s festival theme ‘Love’ encapsulates so much of the sentiment that radiates across the whole BREMF community. The theme was set by our late Artistic Director Deborah Roberts, and it has been such a privilege to programme the festival, bringing her ideas together with ours. We celebrate the different ways in which humans express love, as articulated by ancient Greek thinkers.”
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- EVENT 7: Friday 10 October 7.30pm (St Martin’s Church) LES CARACTÈRES DE L’AMOUR - UK premiere of a 1736 French baroque opera by Mademoiselle Duval featuring the BREMF Emerging Artists vocal soloists, Ensemble Molière, BREMF Players, Alison Buryleader, Baroque Collective Singers, John Hancornconductor and Satoko Doi-Luckorchestrator. Mademoiselle Duval’s opera, Les Génies ou les Caractères de l’Amour, premiered at the Paris Opera in 1736 with Duval herself at the harpsichord. Although the opera captivated audiences, only some of her music survives. In this concert performance, her opera makes its UK premiere in a bespoke reconstruction by Satoko Doi-Luck as we bring you the excitement and splendour of Enlightenment Paris. Tickets: £25/£18; under 30s £12.50/£9; under 12s free. Prom (standing) tickets £5.
- EVENT 10: Sunday 12 October 7.30pm (St Martin’s Church) QUEEN OF HEARTS The Gesualdo Six At the heart of this programme lies a devotion to queens, both earthly and divine. The Gesualdo Six presents 16th-century polyphony which venerates the Virgin Mary, Regina Caelorum, while also memorialising queens of courtly life – Anne of Brittany, Margaret of Austria, Anne Boleyn and Mary Tudor. Blending sacred Latin texts with vernacular poetry, these works evoke a world where love, reverence and political allegiance were expressed through ritual and song. Tickets: £25/£18; under 30s £12.50/£9; under 12s free. Prom (restricted view) tickets £5. (limited availability)
- EVENT 11: Thursday 16 October 7.30pm (St Paul’s Church) MUSIC DIVINE: GIBBONS 400 BREMF Consort of Voices: James Eliasdirector Cavillum Consort of Viols 6.15pm FREE pre-concert event featuring young musicians from BHASVIC. Commemorating 400 years since the death of Orlando Gibbons, this programme explores the spiritual depth and expressive beauty of his sacred music. Gibbons crafted verse anthems that combine the intimacy of solo voices with the rich textures of devotional polyphony. Tickets: £20; under 30s £10; under 12s free. Prom (standing) tickets £5.
- EVENT 13: Saturday 18 October 11am-1pm (Stanmer Park (meet outside Stanmer House from 10.45am) SONGPATH WALK Joanna Harriesmezzo-soprano Angela Hickssoprano Adrian Butterfieldviolin. Join singer and SongPath co-founder Joanna Harries and special guests for a unique blend of nature, music and wellbeing in the beautiful surroundings of Stanmer Park. They will explore what is underfoot and overhead in an uplifting and interactive morning of song. See website for accessibility details. Tickets: £10; under 30s £5; under 12s free
- EVENT 14: Saturday 18 October 3.30pm (St Paul’s Church) BREMF EMERGING ARTISTS SHOWCASE – Chantefable, Londinium Consort, The Lyons Mouth and The Royal Sackbut Collective. Visitors have the opportunity to hear the newest cohort of ensembles selected for the 2025 BREMF Emerging Artists scheme. Each ensemble presents a 20-minute performance, showcasing a programme which explores connections between music and nature. Interval with tea and BREMF’s trademark home-made cakes. Tickets: £20; under 30s £10; under 12s free. Prom (standing) tickets £5.
- EVENT 15: Saturday 18 October 9pm (The Rose Hill) BREMF CLUBNIGHT. Join the BREMF Emerging Artists ensembles for an evening of relaxed, intimate performances in a welcoming pub atmosphere. Tickets: £8. Standing event (very limited seating)
- EVENT 20: Sunday 26 October 7.30pm (St George’s Church) ON THE WINGS OF A SONG Helen Charlstonmezzo-soprano the Consone Quartet. An intimate evening of song, featuring Robert Schumann’s beguiling Frauenliebe und -leben alongside enchanting music infused with the imagery of nature by Clara Schumann and Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. With new arrangements for string quartet and voice, this programme captures the emotional directness of chamber music, evoking everyday love, life and longing. Tickets: £25/£18; under 30s £12.50/£9; under 12s free. Prom (restricted view) tickets £5.
Please see bremf.org.uk for full details of how to buy tickets, to find each venue, including public transport and parking information
Tickets can be purchased online at bremf.org.uk (£1 transaction fee) or by post (£2 transaction fee). Postal booking form available to download or call 01273 833746.
Brighton Early Music Festival (BREMF) is one of the UK’s largest and most progressive early music festivals. Founded in 2002, BREMF is dedicated to making music from the past 1000 years relevant and exciting for today’s audiences. The festival features a wide range of performances, workshops, and educational programs, attracting both local and international artists and audiences. Each Festival usually consists of around 20 events, grouped around three weekends in late October, with pre-festival events during September and early October offering opportunities to participate in workshops, find out more about programmes, and experience the festival for the first time. Outside the festival, BREMF regularly programmes events featuring its choirs and performing groups.
VENUES:
St Martin’s Church, Brighton BN2 3HQ
St George’s Church, Brighton BN2 1ED
St Paul’s Church, Brighton BN1 2RE
St Nicholas Church, Brighton BN1 3LJ
Brighton Unitarian Church, Brighton BN1 1UF
The Rose Hill, Brighton BN1 4JL
The Dance Space, Circus Street, Brighton BN2 9AS
Stanmer Park, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QA
Olwen Foulkes - Olwen is a recorder player, curator and educator with a love of 18th-century chamber music. In 2019 she founded chamber music group Ensemble Augelletti who were selected as BBC New Generation Baroque Ensemble (2023-5) and City Music Foundation Artists (2024-5). Olwen has released multiple solo CDs and she performs with ensembles including the Academy of Ancient Music, London Handel Players, and Dunedin Consort.She is particularly interested in curating and programming around music of the 17th and 18th centuries to tell stories through different contextual lenses which includes her programming for Ensemble Augelletti as well as being a Curator at Handel Hendrix House. She was a Britten Pears Arts ‘Future Leader’ in 2024 and was selected to join the REMArkable network in 2025. She is completing a PhD on the early 18th century London music scene at the Royal Academy of Music where she is also an Academic Studies teacher and has 10 years of experience working as a primary school classroom music teacher (The American School in London) in addition to being a central part of developing the innovative ‘Band Time’ programme for early years at Trinity Laban.
Hannah Ely - Based in Brussels, the British soprano Hannah Ely specialises in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, performing extensively as both soloist and ensemble singer throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. Her career includes work with Collegium Vocale Gent, Gli Angeli Genève, Vox Luminis, and Siglo de Oro as resident ensemble at Wigmore Hall. As a soloist she has recently appeared with Ensemble Masques at the Utrecht Early Music Festival and the Beaune Opera Festival. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Fieri Consort, dedicated to Italian and English secular vocal music of the 16th and 17th centuries. With Fieri she has released six recordings, with a seventh forthcoming in January 2026 in collaboration with Peter Spissky and the Danish ensemble Camerata Øresund on the Ramée label. She also serves as Music Director of the Purbeck Art Weeks Festival in Dorset, where she grew up. Equally committed to education: she has led workshops with choirs and amateur singers across the UK and internationally, including in the United States, Nigeria, and Australia, and was Assistant Director of the Flagey Academy in Brussels until 2023.
SOCIAL MEDIA
5. Contributed
EVENT 20: Sunday 26 October 7.30pm (St George’s Church) ON THE WINGS OF A SONG the Consone Quartet. Photo: Submitted
6. Contributed
EVENT 20: Sunday 26 October 7.30pm (St George’s Church) ON THE WINGS OF A SONG Helen Charlston mezzo-soprano Photo: Submitted
7. Contributed
new Co-Artistic Directors Olwen Foulke Photo: Submitted
8. Contributed
new Co-Artistic Director Hannah Ely Photo: Submitted