BREMF – Baroque Odyssey
The atmosphere was electric – the heart of the church was curtained on three sides with great white screens all the way up to the balcony; the BREMF Community Choir sat ready in ranks at the back; before them sat the players of the Odyssey Orchestra, members of two top-class Baroque bands: Ensemble Augelletti (including Olwen Foulkes, joint Director of BREMF) and Lowe Ensemble (a British/Spanish family of virtuoso performers); in front of them, facing the audience an eager chorus of children filled the floor. I couldn’t tell how many, perhaps a hundred. They were bright-eyed and eager but so quiet – attentive and alert.
When the lights changed the 300 year-old music by Georg Philipp Telemann began and Freya Wynn-Jones, clad in dazzling sequins (or were the tiny LED lights?) and a golden Wonder Woman tiara, embarked on the epic tale of a daring journey home across a dangerous sea. This was projected from behind on to the screen surrounding the performers.
In their quest the gallant children encountered pleasant winds, playful nymphs and a sea Triton brandishing a golden trident that led a stately shoal of balletic fish (provided by BREMF’s pre-festival lantern-making workshop). Then the audience was encouraged to click their fingers, clap and stamp their feet as the music changed to the sounds of a brutal tempest! Some of the larger children energetically worked large silken sheets, blue, teal, sea-green, up and down like billowing waves. This tried-and-tested illusion from the 18th century was very effective.
The storm subsided and Thetis, goddess of the sea, (Hannah Ely the other joint Director of BREMF) sang the opening section of Handel’s As Steals the Morn with her bold triton, (tenor Tom Kelly, who sings with Hannah in Fieri Consort). Thetis, now safe, fell asleep to more music by Telemann and on awakening the travellers sang to music by J.S. Bach, Telemann, Purcell and Handel. The bright children’s voices were very clear and we could hear every word. They had certainly studied very hard to learn everything and this work paid off with an excellent performance. Will they have appreciated the superb quality of the BREMF orchestra? Possibly. Will they remember the songs? Very likely. Will they want to join in again? Well, BREMF can be habit forming and age is no barrier!
Andrew Connal
St George’s Church,
17 October 2025
Rating:
Odyssey Singers
Hannah Ely (soprano)
Tom Kelly (tenor)
BREMF Community Choir
Andrew Robinson (conductor)
Pupils from Stanford Junior School
Freya Wynn-Jones (director)
Lanterns created by Same Sky and participants in BREMF’s pre-festival lantern-making workshop
Odyssey Orchestra
Ellen Bundy violin I *
Gabriel Lowe violin I +
Joseph Lowe violin II +
Fernando Santiago violin II
Francesca Gilbert viola
Carina Drury cello *
Santiago Lowe cello +
Xavier Lowe viola da gamba +
Olwen Foulkes recorders *
Anna Williams recorders
Benedict Williams harpsichord *
Myriam Lowe harpsichord +
* Members of Ensemble Augelletti
+ Members of Lowe Ensemble
Georg Philipp Telemann 1681-1767 – Soave from Sonata No. 1 in A major
Telemann from Water Music:
– Menuett (The Pleasant Zephir)
– Gavotte (Playing Naiads)
– Harlequinade (The Joking Triton)
– Tempête (The Stormy Aeolus)
George Frideric Handel 1685-1759 – As Steals the Morn upon the Night from L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
Alessandro Scarlatti 1660-1725 – Dormi o fulmine from La Giuditta
Telemann from Water Music:
– Sarabande (The Sleeping Thetis)
– Bourrée (Thetis awakening)
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750 – Jesus bleibet meine Freude from BWV 147
Telemann from Water Music:
– Gigue (Ebb and Flow)
Henry Purcell 1659-1695 – Harvest Home from King Arthur
Telemann from Water Music:
– Canarie (The Merry Boat People)
Handel – Happy We from Acis and Galatea
