West Sussex guitar virtuoso promising Christmas magic

Richard will be joined by three of his children Rooney Durrant-Davies, Daisy and Django Durrant as well as singer, songwriter Amy Kakoura and keyboard virtuoso Howard Beach. They also play St Mary & St Peter’s Church, Wilmington on Saturday, December 14. Tickets via www.ropetacklecentre.co.uk and www.richarddurrant.com/events

Richard and Amy first toured their Christmas show in 2013. This year the band will pick from their collection of original material contributed to by every member of the six-piece band alongside numbers such as Johnny Flyn’s The Burial Blessing, Fleet Foxes White Winter Hymnal and Ubi Caritasby Ola Gjello.

Richard said: “For us Christmas begins at Ropetackle with these shows. This year feels extra special with a total of six voices and some fabulous Christmas songs. My kids have grown up listening to Amy’s beautiful voice. Now they get to join the band, go on tour to help share our deep love of this wonderful music.

“This all began in 1994 when I was living at Wilmington Priory next door to the 11th century church of St Mary & St Peters in Wilmington. On a quiet midwinter’s afternoon, all those years ago, somebody knocked on the priory door asking if I could pop into the church to share some music with a group of toddlers. I happily grabbed a guitar and met the children sat around the Christmas tree. I played a few tunes and we began to sing together and as we sang the winter sun managed to peep over the top of Windover Hill to shine through the church window. The sense of shared magic was complete.

“When I was a toddler, my family knew that music was already shaping my life. Like many musicians my thoughts and feelings could be processed and explored with greater ease in the form of musical sounds and phrases. In those early years and indeed throughout my life the routine of practising an instrument has become a dependable, health-giving aspect of each day and in performance this can go still further when – on the right day and with the wind in the right direction – one can almost glimpse the meaning of life. I certainly felt this back in 1994 in the church in Wilmington and this is what I try to recreate with each of my Songs for the Solstice concerts.

“Some years ago I invited singer-songwriter Amy Kakoura to share these winter shows with me and as our friendship has grown so has our musical understanding. Amy and I enjoy the way English renaissance and mediaeval music can work so well alongside contemporary, acoustic folk. We also like the wintry, artistic richness of the Pagan/Christian collision that is for me an essential part of a good British Isles Christmas

“My four children grew up to the sound of winter gig rehearsals and have long since been playing and writing their own music. This year three of them join the tour to take us up to six voices for the very first time. They also bring numerous instruments to the mix with my first daughter Rooney on bass guitar and siblings Daisy on accordion, fiddle and whistle and Django on percussion.

“The sixth voice joining us this year is none other than the internationally renowned keyboardist Howard Beach. Howard has performed all over the world not least playing harpsichord with the insanely-virtuosic baroque ensemble Red Priest. Howard and I have toured and recorded together countless times since meeting fresh out of music college back in the late 1980s and in these latest shows we will include some of the Bach and Vivaldi pieces from our 2014 album Harpsichord & Guitar.”