The Masque in May

The May Concert: Lord Hay's Masque

Our second venture in The Wrocław Masque Project will be a fully staged production of "Lord Hay's Masque" by Thomas Campion, presented in the Oratorium Marianum on the 17th May 2013 at 20:00, as a part of the "May with Early Music" Festival.

"Lord Hay's Masque" was created in 1607 by the poet and composer Thomas Campion, on the occasion of the marriage of Sir James Hay, a favourite courtier of King James I of England, and his aristocratic bride Honoria Denny.

The Goddess Flora and her attendants greet the King with songs and flowers, while sylvans and satyrs roam the forest. Knights of Apollo, under a spell, are hidden in the grove, and they are freed by the goddess Night, who has been sent by Diana. Back in their human form, they find their partners among the ladies of the court, and all dance to celebrate the occasion.

So that everyone can enjoy the story, we are translating the text into Polish. The Oratorium Marianum will become the Great Hall of Whitehall Palace, where King James I and his queen Anna of Denmark sit to watch the entertainment, and the dramatic playing of Ricardo Barros and his ensemble Mercurius will clothe the nymphs and satyrs, gods and goddesses, and lords and ladies with Campion's lovely music.

This Timedance Hansa production, with the dancers of the Wroclaw University Early Dance Group, musicians of Mercurius and students of the Wroclaw University Philology Department, is directed by Jane Gingell and produced by Konrad Przybycień with Ricardo Barros as the Musical Director.