Music for London - Gallimaufry! - The Music and Entertainment of Old England for Weddings, Parties and Corporate Events in London and the UK. Counties Served are Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloustershire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire

Gallimaufry Historical Music, Dance and Spectacle
Audio: Come Ashore Full Fathom Five Bobbing Joan Gastoldi - Fantasia Kempes Jig Passamezzo Antico The Dark is My Delight Trader's Medley	Gallimaufry is a group of professional musicians, actors and dancers with a common interest in and love of the Tudor and Jacobean periods. Amongst us are specialists in the music, dance and drama of those times, as well as in historical costume. Our members have performed for The Royal Shakespeare Company, on the archaeological site of the Rose Theatre, at the Globe Theatre, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Linbury Studio (Royal Opera House); Hampton Court; The Painted Hall (Greenwich); The Queen’s House (Greenwich); and various Shakespeare Festivals around the world. Gallimaufry's artistic director, Tamsin Lewis, studied violin at the Florence Conservatoire before reading Classics and Italian at Oxford. She worked as an archivist for many years, and is now a consultant on period music, dance and costume. She has written, arranged, directed and played music for many theatre productions, including: Yours Ever, Jane Austen (Bath Jane Austen Festival); Arraygnment of Paris (Hampton Court Palace); Romeo & Juliet (Daylight Players’ Swedish Tour); Lilies on the Land (the Lions part National Tour); Death of an Actress (Southwark Playhouse); The Real Hans Sachs (Linbury Studio, Covent Garden); The Crystal Den (New End Theatre); The Jew of Malta, Dr Faustus & The Roaring Girl (Rose Theatre Site); The Old Wives Tale & Old Summer’s Last Will and Testament (Shakespeare’s Globe). Tamsin performs regularly on violin, lute, viols and harp. She is a member of the Lions part Theatre Company and provides music and costume for many of their productions.	SamplexRepertoire:cccccc A PASSAMEZZO was a popular sixteenth century tune and dance. It could be played and danced simply and enjoyed by anyone, but could also become an exhibition piece, with virtuosic and showy divisions played upon it. Gallimaufry provide a wide range of performances from the very simple to the very elaborate, and creating pieces which suit your occasion perfectly. Other numbers include... Kempes jig Dissembling Love Nonesuch All a mode de France Half Hannikin The dark is my delight Passamezzo Antico Johnson - Full fathom five Johnson - Where the bee sucks Morley - La rondinella Wilbye - Weep o mine eyes How should I your true love know? Fair and fair - All in a garden green Oenone’s lament - Fortune my foe Gastoldi - Fantasia The Trader’s Medley - Sellenger’s Round Mico - Fantasia Wilson - Take o take those lips away Blanket fair - Packingtons pound What meat eats the Spaniard? Coprario - While dancing rests Coprario - Come ashore Johnson - Away delights Green garters Miserere my maker Bobbing Joan Turner’s Dish of Lenten Stuff – The friar & the Nun
Weddings Masques were performed in honour of a special occasion, and many of these were weddings. These sumptuous, colourful performances are a truly magical and unique addition to your day. On your day, we understand how important it is for everything to be right. We will discuss our ideas at length with you to make sure that we create something which suits your wedding perfectly, and can provide anything from a single costumed lutanist to an entire masque. At one wedding, the bride and groom chose to play a part in the masque, speaking a scripted interchange before being seated in the place of honour to receive the bessings and good wishes of various classical deities and spirits. For another we created new music just for the occasion, and recorded it for the bride and groom to keep. In creating our performances we draw on original Elizabethan and Jacobean masques such as Campion's masque in honour of the marriage of Lord Hayes, Earl of Carlisle and favourite of James I, to Honora Denny, daughter of the Sherrif of Hertfordshire. In this masque Flora, the goddess of flowers and representative of Phoebus (Apollo), arrives with Zephyrus, the west wind and her lover, to present their good wishes to the happy couple. However, Night appears with her nine Hours to protest against the marriage, which is robbing her mistress Cynthia (Diana) of a nymph (the bride) from her train. Fortunately the Evening Star Hesperus appears to announce that Phoebus has pacified Cynthia, who is now content to see her nymph married. All celebrate and bless the marriage, and Night causes the trees in the grove to dance for joy. The reconciliation between Phoebus and Cynthia symbolised not only the marriage which the masque celebrated, but also the union between Scotland and England formed by James' accession to the throne and further strengthened by this marriage. The song which opens the play. The script tells us that as the masque opens the tune of the song is played and Flora and Zephyrus are seen plucking flowers from Flora's bower and filling baskets held by two Silvans. Then they processed down stage followed by these Silvans and four more with instruments, and when they reached 'the dancing place' the four Silvans begin to play while Zephyrus and the two Silvans sing this song and Flora casts flowers all about. Other occasions Weddings were not the only occasions celebrated with masques: they were often used as grand entertainments for special visitors. The Earl of Cumberland gave one for James I during a royal progress, and when Elizabeth I visited Kenilworth Castle in 1575, she was treated to an elaborate water-borne pageant on the great lake. Our masques are thankfully nowhere near as costly as these events were (the cost of entertaining a King or Queen was so great as to bankrupt some hosts!) but they still make a spectacular and memorable addition to a celebration, whether the occasion is personal or that modern equivalent of a pageant for honoured guests, the corporate event. While historically the Ante-masque was performed by professional actors, often the host or members of his household would take roles in the masque itself, or make up a group of costumed dancers. As princes, the future Charles I and his brother Henry often took part in masques staged by their father, James I. Hosts are welcome to be involved in our performances if they wish, (though this is by no means necessary) which can add to their guests' entertainment! Gallimaufry can also provide something more subtle for quieter events: a quartet of musicians playing consort music, for example. Or something more raucous, such as a wooing play for an engagement party, perhaps.

Weddings

Masques were performed in honour of a special occasion, and many of these were weddings. These sumptuous, colourful performances are a truly magical and unique addition to your day.

On your day, we understand how important it is for everything to be right. We will discuss our ideas at length with you to make sure that we create something which suits your wedding perfectly, and can provide anything from a single costumed lutanist to an entire masque. At one wedding, the bride and groom chose to play a part in the masque, speaking a scripted interchange before being seated in the place of honour to receive the bessings and good wishes of various classical deities and spirits. For another we created new music just for the occasion, and recorded it for the bride and groom to keep.

In creating our performances we draw on original Elizabethan and Jacobean masques such as Campion's masque in honour of the marriage of Lord Hayes, Earl of Carlisle and favourite of James I, to Honora Denny, daughter of the Sherrif of Hertfordshire. In this masque Flora, the goddess of flowers and representative of Phoebus (Apollo), arrives with Zephyrus, the west wind and her lover, to present their good wishes to the happy couple. However, Night appears with her nine Hours to protest against the marriage, which is robbing her mistress Cynthia (Diana) of a nymph (the bride) from her train. Fortunately the Evening Star Hesperus appears to announce that Phoebus has pacified Cynthia, who is now content to see her nymph married. All celebrate and bless the marriage, and Night causes the trees in the grove to dance for joy. The reconciliation between Phoebus and Cynthia symbolised not only the marriage which the masque celebrated, but also the union between Scotland and England formed by James' accession to the throne and further strengthened by this marriage.

The song which opens the play. The script tells us that as the masque opens the tune of the song is played and Flora and Zephyrus are seen plucking flowers from Flora's bower and filling baskets held by two Silvans. Then they processed down stage followed by these Silvans and four more with instruments, and when they reached 'the dancing place' the four Silvans begin to play while Zephyrus and the two Silvans sing this song and Flora casts flowers all about.

Other occasions

Weddings were not the only occasions celebrated with masques: they were often used as grand entertainments for special visitors. The Earl of Cumberland gave one for James I during a royal progress, and when Elizabeth I visited Kenilworth Castle in 1575, she was treated to an elaborate water-borne pageant on the great lake. Our masques are thankfully nowhere near as costly as these events were (the cost of entertaining a King or Queen was so great as to bankrupt some hosts!) but they still make a spectacular and memorable addition to a celebration, whether the occasion is personal or that modern equivalent of a pageant for honoured guests, the corporate event.

While historically the Ante-masque was performed by professional actors, often the host or members of his household would take roles in the masque itself, or make up a group of costumed dancers. As princes, the future Charles I and his brother Henry often took part in masques staged by their father, James I. Hosts are welcome to be involved in our performances if they wish, (though this is by no means necessary) which can add to their guests' entertainment!

Gallimaufry can also provide something more subtle for quieter events: a quartet of musicians playing consort music, for example. Or something more raucous, such as a wooing play for an engagement party, perhaps.

Audio: