The Cries of London, Shoreditch Church

If you have never heard the Orlando Gibbons’ The Cries of London before, you are in for quite a surprise. While we tend to think of Renaissance music as stately and sacred, Gibbons catches a completely different aspect early seventieth-century life. Alongside the beauteous music of viols, vocalists call out the words of street vendors in the capital, advertising their wares in a way that feels curiously contemporary. It’s both a sort of proto-verbatim theatre and a real life parallel to the bawdiest Jacobean comedies.
Gibbons’ work is rarely performed, but for this year’s Spitafields Music Winter Festival it will form a centrepiece of an evening devoted to such early works at St Leonard’s Shoreditch. Gibbons’ Cries will be joined by a host of his contemporaries, including Richard Deering, William Cobbold and Thomas Ravenscroft – all of which folded everyday dialogue into viol music. Gibbons’ instrumental 2 Fantazias for the Great Dooble Bass will provide levity. The Gentle Author, creator of the popular Spitafields Life blog, will be present for a pre-concert talk at 6.30pm.
Formed in 1986, Fretwork are one of the world’s foremost viol ensembles, with an international reach and numerous acclaimed recordings. Their 2006 recording of London street music is regarded as the definite version. They will be joined by the ever-flexible period vocal group Red Byrd.