Archive for category: News

Richard Durrant has been enjoying a busy time leading up to the summer holidays…

The first part of July was spent in France and Richard’s first stop was to perform his final Midsummer Concert in the beautiful Eglise Saint Chartier de Javarzay as part of the Chef- Boutonne town festival.

“This was my debut concert in Nouvelle Aquatainne. It was in the mid thirties which suited me fine; there is something charismatic about such intense heat and it added more layers to the music I was playing.

“The acoustic in the church also gave me a lot to play with so I was a happy boy, especially during the 3rd Cello Suite on the Howlett super tenor ukulele which definitely caused a great deal of surprise but went down a storm,” said Richard.

And look who came to the gig – Richard’s old mate George Hinchliffe from the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. George happened to be on his hols and saw a poster!

Richard & Louise then headed further south towards Bordeaux for the July French Guitar Adventurers holiday.

Five happy days were spent in a lovely cool barn by a field of sunflowers preparing for the end of holiday concert in the ancient church in Yviers.

The gig was the best yet and the very local, French audience continues to grow.

“It is lovely that the locals have taken our antics to heart and turn out in force to see what we’re up to,” said Richard.

Richard is running another French Guitar Adventurer from 16 to 22 September and there are a few spaces remaining. Next year’s dates have been announced and are already filling up – click on button below to see the diary.

Below is one of the pieces performed at this July’s French Guitar Adventurers holiday

Happy summer holidays!

Richard Durrant is back home on Shoreham Beach after his Music for Midsummer tour…

The winding route of his UK solstice celebration ended in the small saxon church of St John The Baptist under the Sussex Downs last Sunday.

It was a wonderful, sunny weekend of gigs which included Richard’s biggest crowd yet at the Brighton Open Air Theatre – a concert accompanied by some beautiful birdsong and the breathtaking views out across Brighton and the sparkling English channel beyond.

“At the start of each gig I invited my audiences to share the midsummer peace with me; they responded by generating this great feeling of tranquillity.

“This felt like the perfect space within which to play the Bach Suite and to mark where we all were in the year. In this tour I was searching for the meaning of midsummer and it felt like I found it in the music I played at each and every concert,” said Richard.

As the British summer seems to be turning hot, Richard is getting ready to leave for the first of his two guitar holidays in the south of France.  En route there is just one, final midsummer concert in Eglise Saint Chartier de Javarzay Chef Boutonne (south of Le Mans).  

The July French Guitar Adventurers holiday is full but there are still a few spaces on the September course.

If you play guitar then come and join the musical party in the sunshine! If you are unsure about your suitability as a musician, please get in touch and we can discuss this. The week includes and encourages a wide range of abilities and musical styles on both classical and acoustic guitars.

Meanwhile back in Sussex it’s Richard’s end of term Summer Special concert at Ropetackle including a guest appearance by the Paraguayan harpist Cristobal Pedersen (father of Kike Pedersen).

Richard Durrant’s special musical celebration of midsummer inspired by the summer solstice starts in just five days in Aberystwyth and ends in early July in France …

Guitarist and composer Richard Durrant returns with a musical celebration of midsummer and another classic series of gigs on the folk/classical cusp.

As the solstice approaches Durrant reveals a collection of pieces, old favourites, tales from the road and the occasional song gathered together to mark the summer solstice.

‘My new favourite guitarist…Richard Durrant sits comfortably outside the accepted genres.’
Tom Robinson, BBC6 Music

Tours such as this are not new to Richard.  He has toured extensively around the UK with his Christmas show for 15 years. His encounters have changed him from church ‘avoider’ to minister of communion, although still fascinated by Paganism after some years living at the feet of the mysterious hill carving the Long Man of Wilmington.

Richard explains…

‘I want to explore the real meaning of midsummer. This year is the start of a long journey as I try to make sense of it all – just as I did with those early Christmas tours.’

Richard’s Music for Midsummer will include the entire Bach Cello Suite No.3 played on ukulele and Richard’s very own work for guitar Book of Spells. As on the album Stringhenge British folk tunes will be mixed with the music of Bach. And the heat of summer will be felt in a selection of Spanish guitar works.

The summer solstice occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. This is the day when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky and the longest period of daylight. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere.

Since prehistory, the summer solstice has been a significant time of year for many cultures who mark the date with festivals and rituals. In many regions, the summer solstice is simply referred to as ‘Midsummer’.

Music for Midsummer Tour 2019

Join us for this special celebration of music at this magical time of the year. Find out if there is a performance near you: https://www.richarddurrant.com/diary/

We wanted to update you about some of Richard Durrant’s upcoming gigs so you don’t miss out on some of his rather special events lined up this Spring…

Travels with my Guitar

Swindon Spring Festival: Swindon Arts Centre
9 May 2019 : 8pm – 10pm
Tickets £9 – £10

Storyteller, concert guitarist, and composer Richard Durrant presents an illustrated talk about his life in music. Dwelling on pivotal moments in his long career, playing six different guitars and a ukulele along the way, Richard shares tales of his musical adventures from the Royal Albert Hall to the centre of South America and plenty of other exciting places in between.

Exclusive Studio Concert

Shoreham-by-Sea Beach
11 May 2019 : 7:00pm – 9:30pm
Tickets £100 – only 10 available

Spend an intimate evening with Richard in his secret studio on Shoreham Beach. This event will be a rare opportunity to meet and hear Richard as he prepares for the upcoming Music for Midsummer tour. This special evening will also include a welcome glass of Prosecco on arrival followed by wine and light finger food.

Music for Midsummer

St Nicholas, Baulking, Oxfordshire
8 June 2019 : 8pm – 10pm
Tickets £15

The beautiful Oxfordshire church of St Nicholas, Baulking provides the atmospheric setting for one of the events in the Music for Midsummer Tour 2019. Richard Durrant reveals a collection of brand new pieces, old favourites, tales from the road and the occasional song inspired by the summer solstice.

All Richard Durrant’s upcoming events are listed on this website. Just click below to see the full list…

Richard Durrant returns to the Ropetackle Arts Centre on 4 April with a rather special recital featuring a selection of some of the world’s most famous guitar solos.

Richard is currently preparing for two major Ukulele events prior to his Music for Midsummer UKtour which starts on 5 June in Aberystwyth. Before that he will be playing solo, unplugged, un-amplified and down off the stage with music from Europe and South America. So this is an opportunity to keep his hand in with some of the great classic works from the repertoire. 

‘There will always be times when I have to plug in, and this can be very exciting and effective. But, equally, there are times when I want to offer something purer and more direct. This direct, acoustic contact with the audience, the sound of my guitar with fingers on strings and nails articulating emotions, is something I’ve practised and thought about for all of my working life. Federico Lorca was on the case in his poem “Guitar”. It’s a bit melodramatic, but it always does it for me:’

Richard Durrant

The weeping of the guitar begins.

The goblets of dawn are smashed…
It weeps arrow without target
Evening without morning
And the first dead bird
On the branch.
Oh, guitar!
Heart mortally wounded
By five swords.

And it will be as close up and intimate as Richard and his regular stage manager Matt Hodgson can make it at their favourite Arts Venue; the Ropetackle in Shoreham-by-Sea. This will be a programme of real favourites played on six string, concert guitar including music by Lauro, Villa-Lobos, Juan Duarte, Albeniz and Tarrega

“Durrant never lets his stunning technique overshadow this wonderful timeless music”

The Sun

Playing un-amplified really allows the unadorned warmth of the instruments to project into a room. Just last Sunday Steve Johnson wrote a piece in the Chicago Tribune entitled ‘Why unamplified music makes for a better live show’ . 

Johnson praises how an un-amplified performance by somebody with the technique to carry it off seems ‘so clearly superior to the average amped show: richer, deeper, more connected.’ He suggests the most affecting performances are the ones that have the least ‘stuff’ in between the performer and the audience… ‘and makes it a communal thing.’

Richard Durrant Live

ROPETACKLE ARTS CENTRE
Shoreham-by-sea, BN43 5EG
4 April 2019 : 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
TICKETS £5 – £16