A new song cycle Five Fairy Land Songs will be premiered at ’Florence Fest’ in St Peter’s Church, Limpsfield on 3rd October – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/florence-fest-festival-concert-tickets-1992864265665
Five Fairy Land Songs was written for The Erda Ensemble (Marta Fontanals-Simmons – Mezzo-soprano, Chloe Vincent – Flute , and Olivia Jageurs – Harp ) for the first Florence Fest at St Peter’s Church, Limpsfield, Surrey, in October 2026.
I had been thinking of writing a set of ‘spring songs’ for the trio after hearing them perform the previous summer, when Olivia suggested an alternative ‘fairy’ theme. I immediately thought of the five Fairy Land poems by Shakespeare and gradually my ‘spring’ ideas began to take a more fantastical direction.
The five poems are taken from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Faries): Over hill, over dale (Act II, Scene I), You spotted snakes (Act II, Scene II), and The Tempest (Ariel): Come unto these yellow sands (Act I, Scene II), Where the bee sucks, there suck I (Act V, Scene I), and Full fathom five (Act I, Scene I), and offer an overriding sense of lightness, playfulness, innocence, mischief and magic.
The fact that both Delius and the Harrison sisters are buried at St Peter’s Church, also influenced the music.
The final song Full fathom five is almost a montage of quotes combining a nightingale’s song, Beatrice Harrison’s famous duet with a nightingale in the 1920’s, the G # bell of St Peter’s Church, plus a selection of quotes from works by Delius including Sea Drift, the Cello Concerto and Cello Sonata (both written for Beatrice Harrison), and the song The Nightingale has a Lyre of Gold.
Five Fairy Land Songs is dedicated to The Erda Ensemble in memory of Florence Jageurs-Eve, who is also buried at St Peter’s Church.
Five Fairy Land Songs was commissioned by The Erda Ensemble with funds provided by the Delius Trust. The one-day festival features performers including The Erda Ensemble, Mark Padmore, and Imogen Whitehead.