In the 1950s and 60s pop music came of age.  At the same time, classical musicians were rediscovering and reinterpreting early music.  The album Come Again is a thought experiment: what if those pop musicians had also discovered early music?

Featuring songs by composers such as John Dowland, Estêvão de Brito and Thomas Tallis, this is Early Music as you’ve never heard it before. Come Again is funded by a grant from the Ministry of Arts and Research, Baden-Württemberg, and will be released in April 2023.

La SErva Padrona

Since 2020 Coronavirus threatens to kill opera! Can David save it with his one-man production of La Serva Padrona? Baroque meets Funk as the social order is turned upside down in this new English version of Pergolesi’s 1733 comic masterpiece.

In 2021-2022, La Serva Padrona played in Uppsala, Hamburg, Edinburgh, and Freiburg. This project was funded by a grant from the Ministry of Arts and Research, Baden-Württemberg.

Elizabethan

Tobias Bacon died of Love in 1618. Join him on the 400th anniversary of his death as he finds out how.

Elizabethan is “a hoot, a bawdy entertainment, and a display of consummate musicality that brings tears to the eyes” (ScotsGay Arts). A brand new one-man musical comedy in which all the songs are 400 years old, this show is “jovial, jesting… laden with Elizabethan innuendo” (The Scotsman), “pleasingly silly and skilfully written… an hilarious creation” (Fringe Guru). “Whether you come for the music (executed masterfully), the promise of scholarly puns a-plenty (literature students, get your thinking caps on), or you are simply seeking some genuinely funny character comedy, there is something for everyone at Elizabethan” (The 730 Review).

WIT & MIRTH

In 1698 Thomas d’Urfey published the smash-hit book of comic songs “Wit & Mirth”. David William Hughes sings some of them, some of his own, and some of yours which he’ll make up for you. 

Thomas d’Urfey’s “Wit & Mith, or Pills to Purge Melancholy” was first published in 1698 and was so popular that it sold out every printing, and was eventually expanded to a six-volume set.  This show presents the best of d’Urfey’s marvellously funny songs, newly written songs inspired by them, and freshly improvised songs based on suggestions from the audience.

Songs of Sadness, Satire, and Seduction

Songs of Sadness, Satire, and Seduction is a recital program of English songs for lute and voice from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, combining historically informed performance with storytelling. This program showcases the wit, narratives, and different perspectives of the songs, and the range and versatility of the solo voice.

Tactus Ensemble

Tactus Ensemble is a mixed-voice chamber choir specialising in early music and based in Cambridge, MA. The group aims to make early music accessible through innovative programming, and free concerts. Praised for their “splendidly illuminated” and “viscerally satisfying” performances (Boston Musical Intelligencer), David directed the group from 2014-2020. For more information, please visit Tactus Ensemble’s own website.