A whole world of music in one small town

SOUTHWELL Music Festival has just celebrated its 11th anniversary. Now, this may not be the sort of number you normally make a fuss about, but the festival has become such a prominent feature on the county's musical landscape that it feels as if it's been around for much longer.

- Report: WILLIAM RUFF Photos: TOM PLATINUM MORLEY

With 26 events on the programme this year, it’s (in some ways) difficult to know where to begin a review, especially when one can’t sample them all. However, you could start anywhere, for one very good reason. Despite the extraordinary diversity of what has been on offer, the heart of the festival beats in every single event. At Southwell it's never a case simply of lumping things together, ticking the boxes and hoping for the best. No, this festival is driven by a refreshingly single-minded purpose.

You have only to read festival director Marcus Farnsworth’s “welcome” in the programme book. He writes about talent, energy and commitment, brought together by a festival which offers audiences the chance to experience the best possible live music in the beautiful surroundings of Southwell Minster and elsewhere in the town. However, the festival is clearly about much more than the music. At its heart is the idea of community, of sharing great music with others, of encouraging curiosity and open minds. More than anything it makes us listen to each other, to leave our world of phones, social media and artificial intelligence and “to tune our ears to the thoughts and ideas of others”.

With such a sharp focus, it doesn’t really matter that my festival experience started with an hour-long recital called Love, War And Nature: Mahler And The Folksong. I wasn’t alone in having very little idea what to expect and what the effect would be of mixing some of Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn settings with new arrangements of English folk-songs, such as Polly Oliver and Waly, Waly. Almost immediately, however, everyone seemed to realise that something special was happening, as connections started to be made between pieces never connected before.