Pioneering soprano Juliet Fraser explores the timeless vocalisation that is the lament, a “ritual of letting go”, combining ancient and new music and words.

Juliet Fraser is known for her inventive programming and commitment to setting the best of contemporary music among the works of the past. This is the world premiere performance of her new project Lament.

Caccini, Couperin, and the Byzantine hymns of Kassia (so memorably set by Tom Coult at Blythburgh Church in the 2024 Festival) are set alongside new music especially created for this project.

A small ensemble of stellar international artists will work on residency in Snape in the spring to co-create this hour-long “ritual of letting go” which seeks out the cracks between genres and traditions to offer something uniquely timeless and unusually communal.

Juliet Fraser writes: “Song has always been used to mark the significant moments in a life, whether of celebration, transition, healing or grief. My inspiration for this new sequence of music and movement is drawn from circular rituals such as the canonical hours, antiphonal structures such as weaving songs, and the slow march of a funeral procession. Music from earlier times and other traditions will sit alongside three short commissions, the old and the new speaking to one another across history and geography. The staging is simple, using gestural sequences drawn from domestic and liturgical committals to create a ritual that is unique yet familiar”.

Juliet Fraser soprano
Lee Curran lighting designer
Nefeli Skarmea choreographer
Jessie Rodger videographer