The Lion and the Unicorn
Friday 2nd October 2026, 7:30 PM at St John’s Church, 73 Waterloo Road, Waterloo, London, SE1 8TY.
Programme
Charles Wood – Hail Gladenning Light
Anonymous – Sumer is icumen in
Thomas Morley – It was a lover and his lass (arr. Andrew Griffiths)
Henry Purcell – Thou knowest Lord, the secrets of our hearts, Z.58b
Gustav Holst – The Evening-Watch, Op.43 no.1
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry – There is an old belief
Christopher Tye – Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus
Benjamin Britten – Hymn to St Cecilia, Op.27
~ Interval ~
Ethel Smyth – 1910
William Byrd – Assumpta est Maria
Herbert Howells – Salve Regina
Robert Ramsey – When David Heard
Imogen Holst – A Hymne to Christ
William Mundy – O Lord the maker of all thing
Michael Tippett – Plebs Angelica
Peter Warlock – The Birds (arr. Fred Tomlinson)
Jim Clements – The Jabberwock
Ralph Vaughan Williams – 3 Shakespeare Songs
Performers
Andrew Griffiths – Conductor
Londinium
Programme Note
Londinium marks the 75th anniversary of the Festival of Britain with a performance at St John’s, Waterloo, restored in 1951 to serve as the Festival Church. Inspired by one of the Festival’s pavilions, which characterised the British as part sturdy Lion and part playful Unicorn, we juxtapose fine works from the Festival’s choral programmes – including music by Purcell, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Howells, and a host of Renaissance composers – with a series of visionary pieces which the planners overlooked, by Gustav and Imogen Holst, Warlock, Britten, and Tippett. Our programme also brings to life other aspects of the lost pavilion, which celebrated Shakespeare, the King James Bible, British Freedoms (Ethel Smyth’s 1910) and the world of Lewis Carroll (Jim Clements’ The Jabberwock), to create a rich and varied tapestry of superb British music.
Tickets include a complimentary illustrated programme, and wine will be served in the interval.