Flowers & Foliage

Marianne’s drawing workshop will explore the beauty of flowers and foliage, using pen, pencil and charcoal and adding colour with soft pastel and watercolour. She invites you on a creative and colourful trip through different techniques, bringing out detail, and exploring nuance, tone and structure. Working from real flowers and foliage as well as photos, by the end of the day you’ll have plenty of plant portraits in your sketchbook.

This workshop is suitable for beginners to more experienced students.

About Marianne – After an early career in London as a painter, Marianne moved to Herefordshire to continue life as a practical artist and tutor. With three art degrees to her name, she is a passionate believer in the traditional skills of drawing and painting, while also keen to encourage students to ‘do their own thing’. Currently she is very happy spending time in her studio exploring drawing and associated techniques, ranging from ink and watercolour to pastel and charcoal.

Construct a Three Section Hardback Quarter Bound Book.

This workshop is suitable both for beginners and those with previous bookmaking experience. Guy will expertly guide you through the construction of a hardback book with multiple interior folded page options (concertina, for example). This is a pocket sized book that is strong and durable. Quarter binding means a cloth covered spine which extends as a hinge onto the spine edge and includes two covered fore-edge corners. The remainder of the book board is covered with paper. A decorative feature will be a visible stitched diamond X pattern on the spine.

Guy Begbie is an artist practitioner and Book Arts workshop provider with a multidisciplinary artist’s practice, working in the field of Book Arts & Printmaking. With 30 years of teaching experience as an Art & Design University Lecturer & Book Arts Coordinator, Guy has exhibited his art works internationally.

Favourite Things – Drawing & Drypoint Printmaking Workshop

Drypoint is the process of scratching lines and marks into a surface with a sharp point which is then inked and printed with damp paper. In this workshop Adrienne will show you how to create your drypoint print using a transparent acrylic plate which will then be printed with the Chapel’s lovely vintage etching press. Your plate can be printed in colour or monochrome and can be printed and re-worked several times.

The theme is Favourite Things. Bring an item or take photos of an object that you like or inspires you – it might be a treasured possession, a pair of baby’s shoes, a chair you like the shape of, an ornament or jug of flowers. The workshop will begin with some guided drawing exercises from your chosen objects.

Suitable for both beginners and experienced artists.

Adrienne Craddock – I was born and brought up in the beautiful Herefordshire Countryside, a feral child with the riverside to explore. Life’s journey took me to experience the drama of city life in Manchester, where I studied printmaking. Back on home turf, my eyes are reopened to the contrasts and uniqueness of this rural borderland. I now make prints that explore and celebrate my local landscape – awash with colour – to capture its evolving energy and forms.

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

GOLDEN DAYS – celebrate the abundance and joy of life as summer fades, fruit ripen and the mood is mellow!

Restore and Rebalance Your Energy – Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in the rejuvenating sound waves that still the mind, soothe the spirit and take us to the peaceful realms of our deepest self where healing and transformation can occur.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started.

For 4-5.30PM SESSION BOOK HERE

For 7.30-9PM SESSION BOOK HERE

ACCESSIBILITY – The Chapel space is wheelchair accessible. There is a lift from the café downstairs.

Weave a beautiful willow Shoulder Basket. 

Weave a stylish and traditional ‘Hen Nesting Basket’, a wonderful vessel for shopping, gathering and collecting eggs.

You will begin with a series of hoops, pre-made and set, joining them together with simple weaving techniques. Then you will go on to add ribs and different colour willows to create a decorative and beautifully shaped basket for you to take home.

Amanda from Wyldwood Willow is a local basketmaker near Usk and has over 25 years of experience weaving with willow and hedgerow materials and fibres. She will guide you through this process during the course of the day and will provide all tools and materials for you to use.

More about Amanda – ‘For over 25 years, I’ve worked as a self-employed basketmaker, blending traditional craftsmanship with a deep commitment to sustainability. My passion lies not just in creating, but in teaching – sharing the art of basketmaking with others and helping keep this timeless skill alive. I celebrate natural materials, thoughtful design, and the beauty of handmade craft. Through my practice, I’ve built a life and business that sustain me and my family, proof that creativity and independence can truly weave together.’

In conversation with Dr Peter Wakelin.

Andrew Green, author of Wales in 100 Objects, will talk about his career as a writer since retiring as National Librarian of Wales in 2013. The conversation will range across Andrew’s reflections on acting as one of the custodians of national memory, his passion for walking and its history, and writing a Welsh satirical campus novel in his second language. His latest book is a study of artists across 250 years who have been bewitched by Wales’s most mysterious mountain, Cader Idris.

Peter Wakelin chairs the Board of Cadw and is President of the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. His books include Hidden Histories: Discovering the Heritage of Wales, Hill-rhythms: David Jones + Capel-y-ffin, Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art and several artist monographs.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

*Image above David Tress ‘Cadair Idris From Above Dolgellau’ mixed media on paper

This hands-on workshop is perfect for anyone wanting to learn new skills or practise existing ones – from beginners to experienced.

Explore the wonderful and exciting world of dip pens, black ink, ink washes and brushwork. We’ll be looking at broad concepts as well as detailed techniques, and by the end of the day you’ll have some fascinating sketchbook pages and at least one piece of finished work. And you’ll have had a lot of fun!

The workshop will include –

• An information sheet detailing what we cover during the day
• Introduction to line and wash, looking at examples from the Old Masters
• Getting to grips with your equipment, including paper.
• Learning pen and brush hand-holds, line techniques, wash techniques, effects on different papers
• Exploring through sketches and exercises
• Making ink drawings focused on Still Life and Landscape

About Marianne –

After an early career in London as a painter, Marianne moved to Herefordshire to continue life as a practical artist and tutor. With three art degrees to her name, she is a passionate believer in the traditional skills of drawing and painting, while also keen to encourage students to ‘do their own thing’. Currently she is very happy spending time in her studio exploring drawing and associated techniques, ranging from ink and watercolour to pastel and charcoal.

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

FLOW, CLEANSE, PURIFY, REFRESH – Celebrate the healing qualities of water.

Midsummer Water Blessing – we’ll resonate water to release into our local river. Bring a bottle of water to infuse with healing resonance for your own use.

Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in wave upon wave of profound resonance. These meditations, brimming with healing sound waves, resonate every cell in your body, stilling the mind, relaxing the body and soothing the spirit. The vibrations positively affect the nervous system by slowing respiratory, brain and heart rates, reducing stress, restoring balance and wellbeing.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started.

Chrys has lead workshops, composed music and been a Natural Voice choir leader for over 40 years.

For 4-5.30PM SESSION BOOK HERE

For 7.30-9PM SESSION BOOK HERE

ACCESSIBILITY – The Chapel space is wheelchair accessible. There is a lift from the café downstairs.

In conversation with Dr Peter Wakelin.

The writer and broadcaster Francine Stock is a former presenter of the BBC’s Newsnight and The Money Programme. In her early career she was a producer then a reporter in news, working with Robin Day and Jeremy Paxman among others. On Radio 4 she has helmed The Film Programme and the live arts magazine programme Front Row. Among her books are a social history of cinema, In Glorious Technicolour, and the novels A Foreign Country (shortlisted for the Whitbread Award) and Man-Made Fibre.

Peter Wakelin chairs the Board of Cadw and is President of the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. His books include Hidden Histories: Discovering the Heritage of Wales, Hill-rhythms: David Jones + Capel-y-ffin, Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art and several artist monographs.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

In conversation with Dr Peter Wakelin.

Historian, teacher, broadcaster, novelist and poet Professor Dai Smith, former Chair of the Arts Council of Wales, will discuss his life and career with a particular focus on his acclaimed biography of the writer, critic and academic Raymond Williams. The continuing influence of Raymond Williams as a thinker is global but Abergavenny was his home town and his novels Border Country and People of the Black Mountains were among many expressions of his strong connection with the area throughout his life.

Peter Wakelin chairs the Board of Cadw and is President of the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. His books include Hidden Histories: Discovering the Heritage of Wales, Hill-rhythms: David Jones + Capel-y-ffin, Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art and several artist monographs.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

Join printmaker Nichola Goff for a One-Day Woodblock Printmaking workshop using handmade earth pigment inks.

The woodblock printing process creates a unique style of relief print showing the beautiful wood grain texture. Participants will go through the basics of learning the process from design, carving and printing on a press, to produce a small set of hand-made woodblock prints with natural inks made from locally foraged ochre pigments, giving rich earth tones.

You will learn –

• • How to transfer designs to a woodblock
  • How to prepare and carve woodblock using carving tools
  • How to prepare relief printing inks and ink up your block
  • About earth pigment inks and how they are made.
  • How to relief print from a woodblock using a printing Press
• No experience necessary. All materials provided.

Nichola Goff is a multi-disciplinary printmaker based in the Forest of Dean. Nichola works with earth pigments, printmaking, photography, installation and social engagement to explore the themes in her practice; connection, ecology and social justice. Nichola works out of her studio, The Yard Print Studio.

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

BELTANE – Nature is Bursting with Potential. It’s time to tune in with all the colourful and vibrant growth of late spring. Align yourself with this energy, reach out for what you want. Everything is possible.

Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in wave upon wave of profound resonance. These meditations, brimming with healing sound waves, resonate every cell in your body, stilling the mind, relaxing the body and soothing the spirit. The vibrations positively affect the nervous system by slowing respiratory, brain and heart rates, reducing stress, restoring balance and wellbeing.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started.

Chrys has lead workshops, composed music and been a Natural Voice choir leader for over 40 years.

For 4-5.30PM SESSION BOOK HERE

For 7.30-9PM SESSION BOOK HERE

ACCESSIBILITY – The Chapel space is wheelchair accessible. There is a lift from the café downstairs.

In conversation with Dr Peter Wakelin.

Alastair Laurence initiated the Conversations at the Chapel in 2018 and since then has interviewed over fifty writers, artists, historians, biographers and speakers on environment, mental health and violence against women. Among those brought to Abergavenny by Alastair are Gillian Clarke, Richard Eyre, Rowan Williams, David Hare, Peggy Seager, Doreen Lawrence, Horatio Clare and Polly Toynbee. Peter Wakelin will turn the tables to interview Alastair about his favourite visitors and his worst moments as well as his career as a producer of television documentaries on music, photography, poetry and other arts subjects, and what he is doing next.

Peter Wakelin chairs the Board of Cadw and is President of the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. His books include Hidden Histories: Discovering the Heritage of Wales, Hill-rhythms: David Jones + Capel-y-ffin, Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art and several artist monographs.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

‘Your Perfect Hill’    

Alongside the Exhibition ‘In search of the Perfect Hill’  at The Art Shop (4 April – 16 May) you can explore your perfect hill in this Monoprinting session with Printmaker Adrienne. She will share her love of Monoprinting using clear acrylic sheet which is inked up with rollers or by painting the ink directly onto the plate. You can experiment with mixing and layering luscious colours and the plates will be printed onto paper through the Chapel’s vintage etching press.

Adrienne Says – ‘ I find monoprinting a seductive process, that captures the energy of brushstrokes and mark making. It enables you to make ‘paintings’ reasonably swiftly, and mixing the coloured viscose inks on the plate is a satisfyingly child like indulgence. Who hasn’t taken pleasure in applying paint to a surface – as we did as school children when we folded paper in half and made ‘symmetrical’ butterfly images – to see what image will appear.’

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

RENEWAL (OESTRUS) – Everything is coming alive, days are growing longer, it’s time to throw of the restraints of winter and enjoy our renewed physical energy and vitality.

Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in wave upon wave of profound resonance. These meditations, brimming with healing sound waves, resonate every cell in your body, stilling the mind, relaxing the body and soothing the spirit, and they enable powerful shifts to take place, bringing positive change.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started.

Chrys has lead workshops, composed music and been a Natural Voice choir leader for over 40 years.

For 4-5.30PM SESSION BOOK HERE

For 7.30-9PM SESSION BOOK HERE

ACCESSIBILITY – The Chapel space is wheelchair accessible. There is a lift from the café downstairs.

SOLD OUT

We are delighted to announce that Conversations at the Chapel organised since 2018 by Alastair Laurence will continue in 2026. The new series will be led by the writer and curator Dr Peter Wakelin alongside occasional guest interviewers.

FIONA MCLEES, JUDITH MACKRELL & LUCY WOOD IN CONVERSATION WITH DR PETER WAKELIN.

2026 is the 150th anniversary of Gwen John, one of the outstanding artists of Wales. The sincerity and intimacy of her paintings has won admirers worldwide. Lucy Wood and Fiona McLees have worked on the largest ever exhibition of her work and contributed to two new books about the artist. Judith Mackrell, who was formerly dance critic of The Guardian and is the author of several biographies, recently published her joint biography of Gwen and Augustus John, Artists, Siblings, Visionaries. The exhibition ‘Gwen John – Strange Beauties’ is at National Museum Cardiff until 28 June before touring to Edinburgh, Washington DC and New Haven Connecticut.

Peter Wakelin chairs the Board of Cadw and is President of the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. His books include Hidden Histories: Discovering the Heritage of Wales, Hill-rhythms: David Jones + Capel-y-ffin, Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art and several artist monographs.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

RAISE YOUR VIBRATION – We are approaching the spring equinox, a point of balance in the Celtic Calendar. Early spring bulbs are bringing colour and hope after the long winter. Gather your energy for the growth and expansion that is to take place.

Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in wave upon wave of profound resonance. These meditations, brimming with healing sound waves, resonate every cell in your body, stilling the mind, relaxing the body and soothing the spirit, and they enable powerful shifts to take place, bringing positive change.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started.

Chrys has lead workshops, composed music and been a Natural Voice choir leader for over 40 years.

For 4-5.30PM SESSION BOOK HERE

For 7.30-9PM SESSION BOOK HERE

ACCESSIBILITY – The Chapel space is wheelchair accessible. There is a lift from the café downstairs.

Celebrating International Women’s Day  – ‘TRANSGRESSIONS to EXPRESSIONS’

7-12 MARCH, 10am-4pm, upstairs at the Chapel, Market Street

Opening event SATURDAY 7 MARCH 2-4pm

…with music and song from Mynydd Du consort and Quiet Ranters

In collaboration with the women’s community arts group Threads – an exhibition weaving stories and exploring women’s experiences.

Creative Textile Workshop 

Discover the joy of handprinted textiles in this relaxed, hands-on workshop. Participants will learn the fundamentals of block printing, explore simple repeat patterns, and create their own beautifully printed cushion cover to take home. No previous experience is needed, the process is accessible, playful, and rewarding.

Perfect for beginners, hobbyists, and anyone interested in textiles, pattern, or handmade craft. This workshop is also ideal for those looking to explore creative wellbeing through hands-on making.

The workshop will include –

• Introduction to block printing and its history
• Demonstration of inking, alignment, and printing techniques
• Guided design warmup and motif exploration
• Test printing on fabric before moving to the final piece
• Step by step support while printing your cushion cover
• Heatsetting and aftercare guidance

Justyna Medon of ‘Addicted to Pattern’ is a surface designer specialising in custom hand-printed collections of wall hangings, textiles and artefacts. After graduating from London College of Communication in 2010, Justyna’s focus was to share her passion for printmaking and to create illustrative patterns that tell the story. In her wallpaper dedicated research she explores historic prints, pigments and embossing technique. Justyna is interested in eco- substrates, natural pigments and explores green solutions in printmaking. She is passionate educator and researcher based in Wales, currently training in the field of wallpaper conservation.

Join us to celebrate with friends and family at our annual Winter Supper.

Combining Joyti’s creative and innovative dishes, live music and delicious drinks, the evening will be the perfect way to start your festive season.

On arrival…

MULLED WINE
MUSTARD & CHEESE STRAWS
PICKLED BEETROOT TACOS, GOAT’S CHEESE
MIXED OLIVES, FOCACCIA
~
 3 Course supper

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

STILL POINT – Short days and long nights as we move towards the Winter Solstice. It’s time for stillness and reflection. Be gentle with yourself and find the still point within.

Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in wave upon wave of profound resonance. These meditations, brimming with healing sound waves, resonate every cell in your body, stilling the mind, relaxing the body and soothing the spirit, and they enable powerful shifts to take place, bringing positive change.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started. The space is wheelchair accessible via a lift from the café downstairs. 

Chrys has lead workshops, composed music and been a Natural Voice choir leader for over 40 years.

For 4-5.30PM SESSION BOOK HERE

For 7.30-9PM SESSION BOOK HERE

ACCESSIBILITY – The Chapel space is wheelchair accessible. There is a lift from the café downstairs.

The French Sewn Flat Back Case Bound Book

Under the guidance of experienced bookbinding tutor Guy Begbie, participants will have the opportunity to make a cloth bound French sewn multi-section book. This is a traditional classic book structure that is strong and durable. The page sections are sewn through each of the page spine folds and so the pages will lie flat when the book is opened. This type of construction can be applied to books of varying scales and formats, and with a cloth bound cover creates a professional binding finish. You will then have a plain, elegant space to insert your image and text content. Along with the conventional page layout, the book will also have other interesting page structures, such as gate-folded and drop-down pages.

This workshop is suitable for participants both with or without previous bookbinding experience.

Guy Begbie is an artist practitioner and Book Arts workshop provider with a multidisciplinary artist’s practice, working in the field of Book Arts & Printmaking. With 30 years of teaching experience as an Art & Design University Lecturer & Book Arts Coordinator, Guy has exhibited his art works internationally.

UPSTAIRS at the CHAPEL

This year we are thrilled to host our first Winter Fair. Come and meet our highly skilled artist / makers, each one a specialist in their chosen medium, whether textiles, printmaking, ceramics or jewellery.  A chance to purchase directly from the artist, from paper goods and tiny objects to larger pieces, rare finds and one-offs. Lots of seasonal gifts! 

The makers…

CARPENTER & CLOTH – Based in mid-wales, using traditional techniques and local materials, find Welsh wool gilets, scarves and mittens, cosy jackets and simple shirts that each tell a story of our cultural and industrial heritage.

JUSTINE ALLISON – focusing on the simplicity and beauty of fine porcelain and incorporating pattern, line and texture and gold leaf, Justine makes hand-built vessels, spoons, tiny bowls and tree decorations.

ALEXIS SNELL – Printmaker Alexis is no stranger to Abergavenny and regular customers will be familiar with her captivating lino-cut designs seen throughout the Angel Hotel. She will be selling limited edition prints, handmade cards and her Picture Books for children published by Puffin.

THOMASIN TOOHIE – All Thomasin’s earthenware pieces are one offs. She uses surfaces like paintings, with an interest in popular culture depicting the everyday. Her jewellery pieces are created as bite size versions of the bigger pieces.

ADDICTED TO PATTERN –  Justyna Medon is a surface designer who will be selling her brightly coloured, botanical inspired limited edition prints, cards, wrapping papers, hand made notebooks, lampshades, screen printed tea towels and linen napkins.

TIM LAKE – Tim makes handmade and kick-wheel thrown stoneware pots. ‘Pots to be used, looked at and most of all to be enjoyed.’ In a variety of forms, ranging from vases and lidded containers to drinking cups and pouring bowls.  

&… THE ART SHOP & CHAPEL – A stand of our own selling provisions from Joyti’s larder – homemade jams, chutneys, ketchups and delicious Membrillo and from The Art Shop – cards, wrapping, strings and journals, and showcasing a new collection of jewellery by Rachel Larkins.

FILM NIGHT at the CHAPEL!

A silent masterpiece with live score by Chris Green.

Nosferatu (1922) is arguably the film that gave birth to the horror genre. Notable as the first cinematic interpretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, its combination of expressionistic acting and unforgettable images render it just as powerful and unsettling today as when it first thrilled cinema goers 100 years ago. Chris Green’s new score was commissioned by English Heritage for a live outdoor screening of the film at Dracula’s spiritual home of Whitby Abbey. The music is a haunting blend of electronic and acoustic instruments performed live by the composer and, combined with FW Murnau’s iconic images, makes for a genuinely remarkable and unique cinematic experience.

Born into a musical family in Coventry, Chris Green began playing guitar at the age of eight and piano from the age of nine, and plays most things with fretted strings or keys. Largely self- taught, he’s worked in a variety of musical genres including folk, theatre and early music. He’s a regular musician at Shakespeare’s Globe and was also one of the musicians on BBC’s Poldark, appearing in series 1 and 2.

He also writes and composes, having adapted The Wind in the Willows (2017) for GreenMatthews as well as A Christmas Carol: In Concert (2018), which London Theatre Reviews described as “A delightful show… a lively retelling”

In 2018, he released his first solo album Switched-On Playford, which fuses 17th-century dance music with electronica, using a blend of early instruments, synths and loops. It was described by fRoots as “bloody brilliant…. an exquisitely-rendered and endlessly satisfying piece of work.”

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

Join us for a fun-filled day at the Chapel! Create a unique 20cm diameter Lampshade in a day. 

Get ready to unleash your creativity and design and print your very own lampshade. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that will brighten up any room. Our lampshade making workshop is perfect for a creative treat or chance to meet up with friends and make something beautiful for your home or as a gift!

The course is suitable for all levels of competency and there is no sewing required. In this small group class, Justyna from Addicted to Patterns studio will guide you through each of the steps at a gentle pace, ensuring you have all the time and support needed to create a beautiful 20cm diameter lampshade.

During this workshop you will learn about various textiles and suitable paint quality, you will create an all over design using stencils, block printing and silk screen printing techniques, mixing your bespoke colour palette and assembling the 20cm diameter lampshade. You will print your final design onto linen and cotton mix fabric by Ada & Ina, selection of colours will be available to choose from.

Justyna Medon is a surface designer specialising in custom hand-printed collections of wall hangings, textiles and artefacts. After graduating from London College of Communication in 2010, Justyna’s focus was to share her passion for printmaking and to create illustrative patterns that tell the story. In her wallpaper dedicated research she explores historic prints, pigments and embossing technique. Justyna is interested in eco- substrates, natural pigments and explores green solutions in printmaking. She is passionate educator & researcher based in Wales, currently training in the field of wallpaper conservation.

A warm welcome back to two well-loved musicians, DYLAN FOWLER, who has performed regularly here at the Chapel since its opening, and this time playing alongside GILLIAN STEVENS.

Taith is the Welsh for journey. Although they come from very different musical backgrounds, Gillian and Dylan have found common ground in their desire to ignore musical categories and draw on traditional music from Wales and other countries as well as their own original compositions. The inspiration gained from travelling and working with musicians from many other cultures, adds a richness to their performances.

They have performed together in Greece, Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Iceland, Germany and France. Occasionally they happily get to perform more locally.

Dylan plays as part of the group ALAW who performed at the BBC Proms back in 2018. He also tours as a solo guitarist. At the moment he is preparing a collaboration between Alaw and VRï to tour in late 2025.

Gillian has another musical life playing early music on bass viol or baroque cello. She is also a composer, whose most recent work was for string quartet was part of an intriguing collaboration with dance, poetry and art, named Natural Consequences.Using a range of instruments, including the ancient Welsh crwth, guitar, tenor viol and whistles they create a magical and spell-binding atmosphere.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Mikey Kenney is primarily a respected fiddle player, singer, songwriter and composer from Liverpool, but he is also a multi-instrumentalist, often performing many of the parts on his recordings (on banjo, mandolin, guitar, melodeon etc). 

Embracing duality, Kenney is very much the musical outsider artist; he is hailed by many as an important conduit of learning, conserving and handing down both English and Irish traditional fiddle music in England’s Northwest and yet he is constantly composing alternative and progressive music of his own with his last two releases Counsel of Owls and The Reverie Road receiving widespread acclaim (both 5/5 fRoots magazine).

For Kenney both of these releases serve as stepping stones in his artistic disciplines, as he seeks a way to use his knowledge of traditional fiddle music in his own compositions without compromising the integrity of either. Through direct experience, Kenney allows other musical forms such as psychedelia, bluegrass, jazz and Italian tarantella to seep into his music but never so far as to allow any one influence to dominate his deep love for traditional fiddle playing. The result of crossing these stones is his forthcoming work Tiny Little Light, set to be released in September 2025. Tiny Little Light is, with the exception of two instrumentals, a collection of songs written around original fiddle tunes in keeping with traditional forms but progressive in their arrangement and instrumentation. Kenney considers it his finest work yet and the truest expression of a life devoted to his craft. He will spend 2025 celebrating this new material by performing it live accompanied by various ensembles including Michael Paul Metcalfe (drums), Awen Blandford (cello) and Andy Raven (guitar).

‘Mikey Kenney is a rare gem… there are few people who seem to embody traditional music in quite the same way. He’s like a walking tune book, and his dedication to keeping the old music of his native Lancashire alive is something to be cherished. In person, he’s much as his press images suggest he might be. Surely born in the wrong era, there’s a wide-eyed wonder about him, and a sense that he was left on this planet to roam and soak up as many musical traditions as he possibly can. He’s seen a lot and he’s played a lot and his music positively drips with the wisdom and experience he’s picked up along the way.’  Jon Wilks, TradFolk

‘Mikey Kenney is an artist for whom music is a calling, not a career choice… a singular and inspiring talent… unfettered by expectations of geography or genre, and a wanderer of worlds both seen and invisible, Kenney is an authentic free spirit’.  5/5 fRoots

‘Superbly charismatic fiddle playing / once heard, never forgotten singing’  FRUK

‘This is magical, medicinal music that defies labels and borders’  Liverpool Echo

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

‘Mellow Fruitfulness’ – One-Day Printmaking workshop with Adrienne Craddock

Autumn’s here! Images of fruit, veg and all things delicious. Printmaker Adrienne will share her love of Monoprinting in this workshop using clear acrylic sheets inked up with rollers or painting the ink directly onto the plates. You can experiment with layering luscious colours and the plates will be printed onto paper through the Chapel’s vintage etching press.

Adrienne Says – ‘ I find monoprinting a seductive process, that captures the energy of brushstrokes and mark making. It enables you to make ‘paintings’ reasonably swiftly, and mixing the coloured viscose inks on the plate is a satisfyingly child like indulgence. Who hasn’t taken pleasure in applying paint to a surface – as we did as school children when we folded paper in half and made ‘symmetrical’ butterfly images – to see what image will appear.’

UPSTAIRS at the CHAPEL

Discover a diverse collection of domestic ware to suit all tastes: slipware or stoneware, hand-thrown or hand-built, decorative or plain. Now in its 9th year, our annual event is an opportunity to meet exceptionally talented ceramic makers and hear about their ideas and very different making processes. This year look out for some new names alongside regular favourites.

The makers…  Adrift Pottery, Justine Allison, Jo Davies, Matt Grimmitt, Richard St John Heeley, Isatu Hyde, Tim Lake, Neville Tatham, Alanda Wilson.

 DOWNSTAIRS at the CHAPEL CAFE & GARDEN

Open all weekend serving seasonal fresh dishes (lunch & breakfast) by our innovative and creative chef Joyti. A wide variety of gluten and dairy free available.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Clive Hicks-Jenkins is an image maker who has enjoyed several close collaborations with poets, illustrating three books for the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and ten for the American poet and novelist Marly Youmans. In 2023 he illustrated Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf for the Folio Society, and this year for the Folio Society he has illustrated Emily Wilson’s acclaimed translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Clive was the recipient of the 2019 Owain Glyndwr Medal for his Contributions to the Arts in Wales, and in 2020 was the winner of the V&A Illustrated Book Award for Simon Armitage’s Hansel & Gretel: a Nightmare in Eight Scenes.

Clive has two exhibitions opening this Autumn. Hay Castle will be showing a retrospective of his work in the fields of illustration, and at Oriel Myrddin, Gwrach/Witch, an immersive exhibition examining more than a decade’s worth of his explorations on the theme of the fairy tale Hansel & Gretel.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Forthcoming from Folio Society August 12th, a limited boxed double-edition of The Iliad and The Odyssey in acclaimed translations by Emily Wilson.

‘Landscape Love’ – One-Day Ink drawing workshop with Adrienne Craddock

Enjoy a day exploring drawing with ink and discover the beautiful monochrome effects which you can achieve with ink washes and bleach. With landscape as the theme you can bring your own photos to work from and Adrienne will bring her own drawings along for inspiration.

Adrienne Craddock – I was born and brought up in the beautiful Herefordshire Countryside, a feral child with the riverside to explore. Life’s journey took me to experience the drama of city life in Manchester, where I studied printmaking. Back on home turf, my eyes are reopened to the contrasts and uniqueness of this rural borderland. I now make prints that explore and celebrate my local landscape – awash with colour – to capture its evolving energy and forms.

Savour the summer with a special supper at the Chapel…

On arrival…
A GLASS OF FIZZ & NIBBLES
~
 3 Course supper

Unlock your creativity as you embroider your unique take on Adriana Torres’s iconic ‘sweater-chair’.

If you love embroidery but don’t know what to design or feel blocked when it’s time to embroider, this workshop is for you! Whether you’re an expert stitcher or have never held a needle in your life, this class could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Through a fun game, Adriana will guide you to create your own ‘sweater-chair’, reframing any insecurity as energy that guides your creativity and imagination.

In this workshop, you will learn a variety of embroidery stitches, including brand new ones like the Argentinian Knots and Picot, which Adriana, who is coming all the way from Argentina, will share for the first time on this tour through Europe, America, and Asia. Other stitches will include Colcha stitch, Towel stitch, Quaker stitch and square knot, among others. The workshop includes fabric, threads, needles, and a handmade booklet with all the stitches.

About Adriana Torres – Adriana studied architecture and graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires. Her collection was distinguished with the Seal of Good Design, an official distinction awarded by the Ministry of Industry to products that stand for innovation, commitment to local production and their position in the market and quality design.
Adriana has taught a number of embroidery workshops worldwide: Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Bilbao, La Coruña, Sevilla, Mallorca, Paris (at the Argentine Embassy), Berlin, London, Devon, Zürich, City of México, Boulder (Colorado), Santa Monica (California) and Philadelphia (at Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters HQ). Her work has been published by Thames and Hudson in The New Artisans; DPI magazine (Taiwan); Super Handmade (China), Stich•illo by Uppercase (Canada); Frankie (Australia), Selvedge (UK) and was the cover of Embroidery Magazine (United Kingdom).

Her embroideries are currently available at Mar Dulce gallery in Palermo, Buenos Aires.

*In both Adriana’s workshops Forest Alphabet and Play & Stitch, students will acquire proficiency in identical embroidery techniques. Despite this, the thematic content and the teaching approach will be very different. You may book for either one or for both at the discounted rate of £235.

The Angel Hotel is offering a special rate to those attending workshops at The Art Shop & Chapel. £205 for an executive double room including breakfast, a £40 reduction on published rates. Please contact the hotel directly if you would like to book and let them know you are attending a workshop. 01873 857121.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of embroidery with Adriana Torres, renowned Argentine artist and specialist in alphabet design.

Adriana travels the world sharing her vast experience and knowledge in the art of embroidery. In this workshop, for which no prior experience is necessary, participants will explore a new alphabet inspired by the flora and fauna of the forest. During the class they will learn 10 embroidery stitches, among which the Argentine Knot and Picot stand out, stitches that Adriana will share for the first time. Others include Colcha stitch, Towel stitch, Quaker stitch and square knot. Materials included are pre-stamped fabric with the alphabet design, threads, needles, and a booklet with all the stitches. This workshop is an invitation to creativity and the learning of unique techniques.

About Adriana Torres – Adriana studied architecture and graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires. Her collection was distinguished with the Seal of Good Design, an official distinction awarded by the Ministry of Industry to products that stand for innovation, commitment to local production and their position in the market and quality design.
Adriana has taught a number of embroidery workshops worldwide: Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Bilbao, La Coruña, Sevilla, Mallorca, Paris (at the Argentine Embassy), Berlin, London, Devon, Zürich, City of México, Boulder (Colorado), Santa Monica (California) and Philadelphia (at Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters HQ). Her work has been published by Thames and Hudson in The New Artisans; DPI magazine (Taiwan); Super Handmade (China), Stich•illo by Uppercase (Canada); Frankie (Australia), Selvedge (UK) and was the cover of Embroidery Magazine (United Kingdom).

Her embroideries are currently available at Mar Dulce gallery in Palermo, Buenos Aires.

• • *In both Adriana’s workshops Forest Alphabet and Play & Stitch, students will acquire proficiency in identical embroidery techniques. Despite this, the thematic content and the teaching approach will be very different. You may book for either one or for both at the discounted rate of £235.

The Angel Hotel is offering a special rate to those attending workshops at The Art Shop & Chapel. £205 for an executive double room including breakfast, a £40 reduction on published rates. Please contact the hotel directly if you would like to book and let them know you are attending a workshop. 01873 857121.

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

WATER  – Flow…Cleanse…Purify…Refresh

Celebrate the healing qualities of water. Midsummer Water Blessing – We’ll resonate water to release in our local river. Bring a bottle of water to infuse with healing resonance for your own use.

Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in wave upon wave of profound resonance. These meditations, brimming with healing sound waves, resonate every cell in your body, stilling the mind, relaxing the body and soothing the spirit. The vibrations positively affect the nervous system by slowing respiratory, brain and heart rates, reducing stress, restoring balance and wellbeing.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started.

Chrys has lead workshops, composed music and been a Natural Voice choir leader for over 40 years.

For 4-5.30PM SESSION BOOK HERE

For 7.30-9PM SESSION BOOK HERE

In conversation with Alastair Laurence

Here is an invitation to come to a Beatles evening at the Chapel. A coming together for all fans inspired by a brilliant new book written about the group – John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie.

With great skill and sensitivity, he tells the story of the songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Traces the twists and turns of their relationship through the music it produced, and offers rich insights into the nature of creativity, collaboration and human connection. Ian writes persuasively that Lennon and McCartney were more than friends, rivals or collaborators. They were intimates who both had the fabric of their world ruptured at a young age, and who longed to make emotional connections with each other and with audiences. The pop song was a vessel into which they poured feelings of grief and euphoria and everything in between. When they couldn’t speak what they felt, they sang it. Ian has been a fan of the Fab Four since he was seven!

John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs has appeared to rave reviews:

‘The first new Beatles story in decades – and the one that will make your heart burst’.  Caitlin  Moran

‘Leslie is one of those thinkers who can spin something smart and important out of just about anything . . . Eclectic and stimulating.’   Nick Hornby

‘The most moving and revelatory book on Lennon and McCartney I have ever read – so joyous, so sad. About the alchemy of youth, of friendship, of love. I just wish I could enjoy the experience of reading it for the first time again.’   Tom Holland

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

This spring will see Al Lewis embark on a unique tour in partnership with Transport for Wales; visiting towns and cities all along Wales’ stunning rail network. Al will not only experience new parts of the country, but also practise a more environmental and social approach to touring and show how musicians can do their bit to help reduce our combined carbon footprint. He will be bringing his blend of Welsh and English language music to Abergavenny accompanied by Lucy Rivers.

 Lucy Rivers is a composer, writer, actor, musician and co-founder of the multi-award-winning theatre company Gagglebabble, which specialises in gig-theatre. She recently composed the music and co-wrote the lyrics for GIN CRAZE! at Northampton Royal and Derngate.

Al’s most recent album ‘Fifteen Years‘ received significant airplay and widespread critical acclaim across the BBC network and from stations and publications across Europe and the US. It examined the universal themes of grief and healing through his own experience of finally beginning to come to terms with the loss of his father while hoping to help others in similar situations.

Al has released multiple albums, won Best Song + Album at the UK Americana Awards (as part of Lewis & Leigh) been nominated for the Welsh Music Prize, Welsh Language Album of the Year and the Welsh Folk Awards (for his seminal single ‘The Farmhouse’). His albums have all spent multiple weeks at #1 on the Welsh language charts. Al has performed at iconic events such as Glastonbury Festival, Nashville’s Americana Music Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Lorient Festival (Brittany) and Celtic Connections in Glasgow. His single based upon the Dylan Thomas story A Child’s Christmas in Wales’ was the first song sung partly in Welsh to make it onto the BBC Radio 2 playlist and has since been covered by artists as varied as Gary Barlow and John Owen Jones. His 2020 album Te yn y Grug (Tea in the Heather) was a choral-folk concept piece written initially for the musical of the same name and was performed at a sold-out concert at the 2019 Welsh National Eisteddfod.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

The Rheingans Sisters’ new album Start Close In, was released in September 2024 to enthusiastic critical acclaim. Celebrated at no 2 in The Guardian’s Top 10 Albums of 2024, ‘it’s clear that the Rheingans Sisters have made their boldest album yet’. MOJO Magazine gave the sisters ‘joyous’ album no 5 in their Top 10 Folk Albums of 2024 round up and Trad Folk described it as ‘experimental and brave and genuinely magical’.

The sisters’ new live show is an immersive and uplifting musical journey. Taking in baroque fiddle tunes and trance beats, metal-inspired arrangements of traditional ballads and improvisations with phone voicenotes, Rowan and Anna once again make music like painters; revealing in bold colours the next soaring chapter in their unmistakable brand of avant-garde trad, blending ancient song and universal stories with future imaginings, dystopias and dreams.

Produced by New York based Adam Pietrykowski (whose genre-diverse work spans rock, contemporary classical and prog folk) the visionary duo’s new album is ‘wildly expressive; at the forefront of the recent upsurge in experimental, drone-led folk’ (KLOF). Previous winners of BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Original Track and nominees for Best Band, with their uniquely blended sound of fiddles, voices, feet, banjos, electric guitar, synths and the powerful bass drones of the medieval tambourin à cordes, The Rheingans Sisters remain one of the most visionary acts on the British folk scene today.

‘A radical leap into darkness’ – The Guardian, Folk Album of the Month

‘Gorgeous, vivid songwriting’ – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio

‘It’s the Rheingans Sisters: expect the unexpected’ – Songlines Magazine

‘Too good not to play’ – Ian Lynch (Lankum) Fire Draw Near

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

‘Birds of a Feather’ – One-Day Printmaking workshop with Adrienne Craddock

Let’s celebrate birds! Enjoy a day making luscious images, using print rollers, mixing ink, and painting on acrylic sheet which will be printed using the Chapels Vintage printing press.

Adrienne Says – ‘ I find monoprinting a seductive process, that captures the energy of brushstrokes and mark making. It enables you to make ‘paintings’ reasonably swiftly, and mixing the coloured viscose inks on the plate is a satisfyingly child like indulgence. Who hasn’t taken pleasure in applying paint to a surface – as we did as school children when we folded paper in half and made ‘symmetrical’ butterfly images – to see what image will appear.’

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

An evening about the art and craft of writing a biography with the acclaimed writer Sue Prideaux.

Her latest book is Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin, a vital re-examination of this trailblazing and controversial artist. Drawing from a wealth of new material and access to the artist’s family, this myth-busting work challenges us to see Gauguin anew. It has been published to rave reviews.

‘Scintillating. As a man, as an artist, Gauguin was more than one thing, and Prideaux colourfully fleshes out his story with nuance and detail.’- Financial Times

‘A brilliantly readable and compassionate study of Gauguin.’ – Spectator

‘An immaculate biography: even handed, scholarly, comprehensive and historically informed’ – New Statesman

Sue Prideaux’s first biography Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream (2005) won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Strindberg: A Life (2012) won the Duff Cooper Prize and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche (2018) was awarded the Hawthornden Prize and was The Times Biography of the Year. Wild Thing, was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

The Sculptural / Architectural Tower Book

Under the guidance of experienced bookbinding tutor Guy Begbie, you will explore and learn a broad skills set of traditional and unorthodox bookbinding techniques through the making of a hybrid book form – the Sculptural Tower Book. An inspiring workshop suitable for participants both with or without previous bookmaking experience.

The Tower Book is adaptable and versatile in its page layout and content. This type of binding has so many options in how it is opened and viewed, and how the pages are put together to enhance the visual narrative. The structure is made in an elongated portrait format using either a soft back cover with a tabbed closure or hardback paper covered boards back and front. The finished book can contain printed material or drawn/painted content, text and paper engineered folded pop-up elements. The layout of these can be either sequential throughout the book or in a non-linear more dynamic configuration. The binding uses both stitching and pasting methods to give an aesthetically pleasing, professional finish.

Guy Begbie is an artist practitioner and Book Arts workshop provider with a multidisciplinary artist’s practice, working in the field of Book Arts & Printmaking. With 30 years of teaching experience as an Art & Design University Lecturer & Book Arts Coordinator, Guy has exhibited his art works internationally.

*LUCY ALGAR’S SOLO EXHIBITION ‘DRAWING PERFORMANCE’ IS CURRENTLY SHOWING AT THE ART SHOP.

This One-Day workshop will be led by performance designer/artist Lucy Algar and dancer/choreographer Kirill Burlov. They will create a dynamic space where participants can encounter and enjoy responding through expressive drawing. Drawing is a vital tool for performance designers, not only to communicate their design ideas but also to provoke and interrogate them in collaboration with others. It is also a wonderful way for everyone to connect with their environment and each other. Costumes will be created from the drawings and the workshop will end with a celebratory performance by the dancers.

Participants do not need any previous experience.

Lucy and Kirill have run these workshops all over the UK and internationally, in China, Prague, Seoul and the Netherlands. 

Lucy Algar, BA MA FHEA is an artist, performance designer and educator. She is the Course Leader of the BA Theatre Design course at Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL, a post she has held since 2013. Her work includes extensive design for performance both live and for film and TV, art installations in public environments & galleries & exhibition design. Her research and practice focuses on the role of drawing as the primary investigative and communication tool for performance designers. 

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT

In conversation with Alastair Laurence

John Macfarlane is regarded internationally as one of the leading designers of stage sets and costumes for Opera, Ballet and Theatre. His many Opera designs include Peter Grimes, Die Zauberflöte, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, and L’Heure espagnole/Gianni Schicchi (Royal Opera), Hansel and Gretel (WNO/Metropolitan Opera, New York), Queen of Spades (WNO), War and Peace (Opéra Bastille), Clemenza di Tito (Paris Opéra), Trojans (ENO), Don Giovanni (La Monnaie/San Francisco), Elektra and Rusalka (Chicago Lyric Opera), Rake’s Progress (Scottish Opera), Maria Stuarda , Tosca, Flying Dutchman and Agrippina (all for Metropolitan Opera) and recently Macbeth (Chicago).

Dance designs include numerous works for Jiri Kylian, Sir Peter Wright’s Giselle (Royal Ballet, London), Glen Tetley’s La Ronde and Liam Scarlett’s Frankenstein, Asphodel Meadows, Sweet Violets and The Age of Anxiety (Royal Ballet), Hummingbird (San Francisco Ballet). He also created The Nutcracker for Sir Peter Wright and Cinderella (both at Birmingham Royal Ballet). In 2018 he designed the sets and costumes for Swan Lake (Royal Ballet).

He is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2021 John was awarded Outstanding Creative Contribution by the Critics Circle at the National Dance Awards (London).

A collection of his works, published by Graffeg Books is now on sale. John Macfarlene: Theatre Design and Studio

Ensemble of the Year winners (2023) featuring acclaimed musicians Gabriel Bilbao, Violin (MA, Royal Academy of Music, London), Clara Mezzanatto, Violin (Royal Consevetoire, Birmingham), Hinki Suen, Viola (MA, Royal Academy of Music, London), and Ada Guarneri, Cello (MA, Royal College of Music, London).

The concert will feature renowned works by Schubert and Beethoven, including String Quartet No 14 in D Minor which Franz Schubert composed in 1824. This daring work, otherwise known as Death and the Maiden has become one of the great pillars of the chamber music repertoire.

In 2022 the quartet was selected for the “MERITA” Platform (Amsterdam), Le Dimore del Quartetto network and Chamber Studio, London. They were awarded the Fondazione Olly scholarship at Accademia Perosi (Italy). They have performed in prestigious venues all over Europe.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

‘Joys of Spring’ – One-Day Printmaking workshop with Adrienne Craddock

 Drypoint – is the process of scratching lines and marks into a surface with a sharp point which is then inked and printed with damp paper. In this workshop, Adrienne will show you how to create your image using a transparent acrylic plate, perfect for detailed line recording, which will then be printed with the Chapel’s vintage etching press. This workshop will explore making images of plants, foliage, flowers and things from the garden.

Adrienne Craddock – I was born and brought up in the beautiful Herefordshire Countryside, a feral child with the riverside to explore. Life’s journey took me to experience the drama of city life in Manchester, where I studied printmaking. Back on home turf, my eyes are reopened to the contrasts and uniqueness of this rural borderland. I now make prints that explore and celebrate my local landscape – awash with colour – to capture its evolving energy and forms.

In Conversation with Alastair Laurence.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, and in collaboration with Threads, our guest is the art historian Frances Borzello.

Frances’ latest book is a fully revised and updated edition of A World of Our Own, one of the first explorations of how women have always practised as artists, but for centuries have been overlooked in the art world. Their work derided as second-rate, and presence unwelcome in a male profession, it examines how, against the odds, women overcame these difficulties.

Starting in the Renaissance A World of Our Own reconstructs the changing world of women artists. How seventeenth-century painters like Artemisia Gentileschi and Judith Leyster enjoyed success by depicting subjects relevant to women, as did eighteenth-century greats Angelica Kauffmann and Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun with their themes of motherhood. With further breakthroughs in the nineteenth century, as women strove to be admitted to exhibiting societies and opened art schools. Finally, through the twentieth century, as Augusta Savage, Georgia O’Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Cindy Sherman, Mona Hatoum and others led the way for today’s artists to secure their rightful place.

Frances Borzello is also the author of The Naked Nude, Seeing Ourselves: Women’s Self-Portraits and At Home: The Domestic Interior in Art, all published by Thames & Hudson.

ONLINE TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

‘Landscape Love’ – One-Day Ink drawing workshop with Adrienne Craddock

Taking inspiration from our beautiful welsh borderlands. Adrienne will lead this session in ink and wash drawing. You can explore the interesting effects of bleach and ink and create tonal washes with a range of brushes to capture these iconic hills and wild landscape.

Adrienne Craddock – I was born and brought up in the beautiful Herefordshire Countryside, a feral child with the riverside to explore. Life’s journey took me to experience the drama of city life in Manchester, where I studied printmaking. Back on home turf, my eyes are reopened to the contrasts and uniqueness of this rural borderland. I now make prints that explore and celebrate my local landscape – awash with colour – to capture its evolving energy and forms.

Join local artist and knitting designer Dee Hardwicke for this unique Botanical Art & Embroidery Class for knitters. Dee will be sharing her special techniques for drawing and charting botanical motifs which you will then Swiss darn onto knitting, creating beautifully layered embellishments. This wonderful event is being held to celebrate the publication of Dee’s latest book, Cultivate, and Dee will be joined by her co-author and publisher Jonna Helin. 

Designed to appeal to knitters and embroiderers alike, the workshop will be held upstairs at the Chapel, in a beautiful and historic wood-panelled room with spectacular windows that allow light to flood in. You will arrive to find tables dressed with still lifes of gorgeous seasonal foliage and flowers. Sharing some of the techniques she teaches in her fine art drawing classes – and taking inspiration from these table-top displays – Dee will begin by showing you how to select and combine colours to create your own botanical motifs in pastels. As Dee explains ‘nature puts colour together so well and in such perfect proportions’ so there’s endless inspiration to be found in the tabletop displays.

After a delicious lunch created by Joyti downstairs at the Chapel café, Dee will guide you through the process of selecting yarn palettes and translating your motifs into charts. You will discover how to place and Swiss darn these onto a knitted square, creating a unique and painterly layered effect over the stitches below. This is a lovely technique that Dee has used to create several of the stunning scarves in her new book, Cultivate.

The scarves – along with some of Dee’s original artwork and knitted garments in modern silhouettes that Jonna has designed for the book – will be on display on the day, providing further inspiration and insights into how Swiss darning can be used to embellish your own knits. Copies of Cultivate will be available to buy, and Dee and her co-author and publisher Jonna will be delighted to sign copies … a perfect Christmas present for you and the knitters in your life!

You’re bound to come away from this very special workshop brimming with ideas and inspiration.

Examples of sketchbooks designs – Dee Hardwicke

*NEW DATE TUESDAY 3 DECEMBER

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Joe Boyd is the legendary producer of Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, R.E.M, Fairport Convention, Cubanismo, Toots and the Maytals, Toumani Diabete, Taj Mahal, Billy Bragg and numerous others. His latest book is called And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music. This epic work is the result of a lifetime travelling the globe, producing and immersing himself in music.

He has witnessed first-hand the growing popularity of music from Africa, India, Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe since the 1960s and was one of the protagonists of the ‘world music’ movement of the 1980s. In this sweeping history he sets out to explore the fascinating backstories behind these sounds.

Joe Boyd also founded and ran the Hannibal label for twenty years. His film productions include Jimi Hendrix and Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace. A memoir White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960’s was published in 2006 to wide critical acclaim.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

Hannah James and Toby Kuhn are a dazzling combination.

Hannah is an award-winning musician, dancer, songwriter and singer, a creative force renowned for her work with Lady Maisery, Seasick Steve, Maddy Prior and Songs of Separation with Eliza Carthy, Karine Polwart and others. Toby is a globetrotting French cellist whose post-classical, inventive, improvisational playing combines beautifully with Hannah to create a charismatic, playful chemistry. If you’re looking for warmth, honesty and musical excellence, look no further. This folk is full of soul.

Hannah and Toby met in Summer 2018 at Floating Castle festival in Slovenia and it was clear that these two musicians shared a common approach to music making and a real artistic chemistry. Hannah is one of the key figures in the modern UK folk scene. Rooted in the English Tradition but enriched by her collaborations all over Europe, her charismatic blend of accordion, vocal and clog dancing forged an instant artistic chemistry with impressive French cellist Toby Kuhn.  Toby is always on the lookout for new ways to play his instrument, his unorthodox approach has won admiration and acclaim from Japan to Canada, bringing the full potential of the cello with him on his journey across style and invention.

Together, their music is soulful, original and conversational. The combination of accordion and cello allows for a huge palette of sounds and textures which lift James’s pure voice and deeply honest songwriting. In the next breath they switch to choppy rhythms and joyful interplay between cello and percussive dance. This duo deliver a diverse, playful and hugely original performance.

Experience the beautiful sounds of this fascinating collection of instruments – Himalayan singing bowls, flutes, chimes and bells, a strange flying saucer like instrument called a hang, and 8 major Gongs, each with their own character and fascination.

This is different to the Gong Bath Meditation that you may be used to. The audience will be seated and you will have the opportunity to watch these amazing instruments being played.  The unfathomable sounds travel through the space, at times sounding like the heavens are singing. Feel the resonance in your whole being, inviting joy and reflection, silence and peace.

‘GIFTS FROM THE GARDEN’

Printmaker Adrienne will share her love of Monoprinting in this garden themed session. ‘Mono’ meaning ‘one’- a monoprint is a single, printed image and a very painterly form of printmaking.

This workshop will explore Monoprinting using a clear acrylic sheet inked up with rollers and by painting the ink directly onto the plate. You can experiment with layering colours and the plates will be printed onto paper through the Chapel’s vintage etching press.

Adrienne Says – ‘ I find monoprinting a seductive process, that captures the energy of brushstrokes and mark making. It enables you to make ‘paintings’ reasonably swiftly, and mixing the coloured viscose inks on the plate is a satisfyingly child like indulgence. Who hasn’t taken pleasure in applying paint to a surface – as we did as school children when we folded paper in half and made ‘symmetrical’ butterfly images – to see what image will appear.’

Monoprinting ink palette

The FERRANTE FAMILY

Elio Ferrante and his family produce high quality organic single estate extra virgin olive oil on their 25 acre farm in Abruzzo, central Italy. Rosie Sykes, chef and friend of the Chapel Kitchen, got to know Elio and his family when visiting Abruzzo and was enamoured with their love of food and passion for sharing the dishes of their region. The Ferrantes are driven by the Italian love of local, seasonal and traditional cooking and are over in the UK for their second visit. They will share an autumn menu of regional cooking with a meal at the Chapel in Abergavenny.

The new olive oil, to be harvested this October is due to be shipped across in time for the meal, giving a rare opportunity to taste oil that is not only of exceptional quality but rarely available this fresh. It will still be green and fiery with a strong peppery aftertaste. Alongside the opportunity to taste this fresh olive oil will be a range of other local produce, including their own cured pork sausages and award winning Pecorino di Farindola.

This menu was selected by the family as one that is typical for the time of year.

MENU

Antipasti
WHITE BEANS WITH ONIONS & SQUASH
~
Primi Piatti 
HAND CUT TAGLIATICCI (FRESH PASTA) ABRUZESSE STYLE
FRACCHIATA (MADE A BIT LIKE POLENTA, THIS IS A MIXTURE OF LOCAL PEA FLOURS) WITH PANCETTA & FRIED DRIED ABRUZESSE PEPPERS
~
Second Piatti
FOLDED EGG WITH RED PEPPERS & BACON
SERVED WITH AWARD WINNING PECORINO DI FARINDOLA CHEESE
HOME CURED PORK SAUSAGES
NEW SEASONS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (the oil will only be weeks old & there will be an opportunity to sample & buy it)
~
Dolce
PANNA COTTA & CANTUCCI
SERVED WITH A GLASS OF VERY SPECIAL SWEET WINE PASSITO PRODUCED BY MARCHESI DE’ CORDANO WINERY FRIENDS OF THE FERRANTE FAMILY

A vegetarian is menu available on request. Booking details below.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

At the end of 2019 author, broadcaster and journalist Horatio Clare began a terrible period of severe mental ill health. He had a breakdown, was sectioned, received psychiatric treatment and has happily recovered. Out of his experiences he presented the Radio 4 series Is Psychiatry Working. His latest book is Your Journey, Your Way, and is a welcome guide to how to fight for and receive the best treatment if you do fall ill and how to navigate the system. It is a vital, much needed and beautiful piece of writing.

Horatio was born and grew up on a sheep farm in the Black Mountains. So, a very local author indeed! His first book, published to great acclaim in 2006, was Running for the Hills, a lyrical account of his childhood. Other titles followed including as A Single Swallow, The Light in the Dark, Down to the Sea in Ships and Heavy Light. There have also been many radio documentaries presented by him over the years. And he writes for publications including the Financial Times, Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Mail.

• *All ticket sales for this evening will go to the mental health charity MIND.

GUITARIST . COMPOSER . PRODUCER

What a pleasure to have the exceptional Welsh guitarist, Dylan Fowler, back at the Chapel, this time as a solo performer.

In May this year his latest album for AMR, Ebb & Flow, was released and is the culmination of many years developing solo repertoire that encompasses his eclectic influences. The music ranges from the Celtic music of his native Wales through his literal and metaphorical ‘travels’ in music that have taken him to the Balkan countries, India, South America, North America and many parts of Europe. In performances he will take you on a musical journey that ‘Flows’ in such a way that a Welsh Triple Harp tune sits perfectly next to apiece by the great Keith Jarrett.

These are some of the Festivals that he’s appeared at over the years: Canadian International Guitar Festival (twice), East/West Festival, Bangalore India with the great Indian guitarist, Konarak Reddy, Guitaras del Mundo Festival, Argentina, Six Strings guitar festival, Italy (three times), International Guitar Night Tour, Germany (four times), International Guitar Festival, Czech Republic supporting Tommy Emannuel.

Dylan has also toured with Danny Thompson, Richard Thompson, and has shared stages with Tony McManus, Don Ross, Ian Melrose, Soïg Siberil, Tony Byrne and many others. He has also conducted music workshops in Finland (Sibelius Academy), Italy, Bulgaria, Patagonia, Sweden and Wales.

**POSTPONEMENT & NEW DATE

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Francis Spufford is the best-selling author of Golden Hill, called by Richard Osman ‘The best book of the twenty-first century’. This debut novel went on to win many prestigious literary prizes. No wonder. It is a very good read. It was followed by Light Perpetual which was long listed for the 2021 Booker Prize.

His latest work of fiction is Cahokia Jazz, a thrilling tale of murder and mystery in a city where history has run a little differently. Again, critics have raved, calling it ‘thrilling’, a ‘delight’ and ‘a classic of alternative history’. Nick Hornby calls him ‘One of the most original minds in contemporary literature’.    

Francis Spufford has also written five other highly praised works of fiction, described by reviewers as both ‘brilliant’ and ‘bizarre.’ 

In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He teaches writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and lives near Cambridge.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

A WELCOME RETURN TO THE CHAPEL FOR AMERICAN COUNTRY BLUES MUSICIAN, CHARLIE PARR.

In the music of Charlie Parr, there is a sincere conviction and earnest drive to create.

The Minnesota-born guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music has released 19 albums over two decades and has been known to perform up to 275 shows a year. Parr is a folk troubadour in the truest sense: taking to the road between shows, writing and rewriting songs as he plays, fueled by a belief that music is eternal and cannot be claimed or adequately explained. The bluesman poet pulls closely from the sights and sounds around him, his lyrical craftsmanship built by his influences. The sounds from his working class upbringing – including Folkways legends such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie – imbue Parr’s music with stylistic echoes of blues and folk icons of decades past. Parr sees himself merely as a continuer of a folk tradition: “I feel like I stand on a lot of big shoulders,” he said in an interview. “I hope that I’ve brought a little bit of myself to the music.”

With a discography simultaneously transcendental in nature and grounded in roots music, Charlie Parr is the humble master of the 21^st century folk tradition. Parr started recording in Duluth in 2002, where he lives today. Life in the port town on Lake Superior has a way of bleeding into his work the same way his childhood in Austin, Minnesota does. Before he was even 10 years old Parr was rummaging through his father’s record collection – sometimes drawing dinosaurs on the vinyl sleeves – and listening to country, folk, and blues legends, many of whom are staples in the Folkways catalog.

Parr self-released his debut album, Criminals and Sinners, and did the same for his sophomore album 1922 (2002). With growing popularity abroad, Parr signed with Red House Records in 2015, where he recorded break-out albums Stumpjumper (2015) and Dog (2017). Parr’s music has an overwhelming sense of being present and mindful, and his sound is timeless.

Parr’s first album with Smithsonian Folkways, Last of Better Days Head (2021), foregrounded his lyrical craftsmanship and sophisticated bluesman confidence, with spare production highlighting Parr’s mastery of guitar and elevating his poetry. Last of Better Days Ahead is a portrait of how Parr saw the world in that moment, reflecting on time and memories that have past while holding an enduring desire to be present. In his 2024 release, Little Sun, Parr weaves together stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature. Putting forth an ambitious and raw album that exemplifies the best of Parr’s sound: a blend of the blues and folk traditions he continues to carry with him and the steadfast originality of a poet.

COLLAGRAPH – RELIEF PRINTS – ‘Birds & words’

A Collagraph is a printed collage. This workshop will explore making playful, illustrational images of birds or creatures with reference to Rhymes and Stories.

You will be ‘drawing with scissors’ and cutting, sticking, inking and printing. Your plates will be printed through the Chapels Vintage printing press.

Adrienne Craddock – I was born and brought up in the beautiful Herefordshire Countryside, a feral child with the riverside to explore. Life’s journey took me to experience the drama of city life in Manchester, where I studied printmaking. Back on home turf, my eyes are reopened to the contrasts and uniqueness of this rural borderland. I now make prints that explore and celebrate my local landscape – awash with colour – to capture its evolving energy and forms.

This class will take part in the Chapel’s rambling garden, weather permitting.

De-mystifying the art making process, work alongside Kumar in your favourite medium and see how a painting can be made from the start. Working from observation this course will grow your confidence with your chosen medium. Kumar will regularly circulate, helping participants on their creative journey.

Kumar Saraff studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, going onto study painting at the Royal Academy Schools. Here he won several awards and prizes, including the David Murray travel scholarship for landscape painting and a silver medal for excellence in painting. Kumar’s art has its origins in a European landscape painting tradition, using the colour and form of light effects on landscape to take the viewer on an exploration of paint on surface.

Bring along your chosen medium – watercolour, acrylic, water soluble pencils, pastels etc. – basic drawing materials and paper will be provided.

Savour the summer with a special supper at the Chapel…

On arrival…
SEASONAL FIZZ
~
 3 Course supper
PICKLED BEETROOT, GOAT’S CHEESE, WATERCRESS TART
or  WARM SMOKED MACKEREL, MONK’S BEARD, PICKLED GOOSEBERRIES, CRÈME FRAICHE DRESSING, BASIL OIL, RYE BREAD
~
MOROCCAN SPICED RACK OF LAMB, BABA GHANOUSH, COUSCOUS, GRILLED COURGETTE
or  CREAMY WHITE BEAN HUMMUS, BROAD BEANS, FETA, CHILLI OIL, PICKLED RED ONION, GARLIC CHIVES, FOCACCIA
~
CHOCOLATE NEMESIS CAKE, SUMMER BERRIES

DRYPOINT – ‘Objet d’Hart’ or Objects of the Heart

Drypoint is the process of scratching lines and marks into a surface with a sharp point which is then inked and printed with damp paper.

In this workshop, Adrienne will show you how to create your image using a transparent acrylic plate, perfect for detailed line recording, which will then be printed with the chapel’s lovely vintage etching press.

This workshop will explore making images of a chosen object. An item that means something to you. It might be a treasured possession, a pair of baby’s shoes, a vegetable or flower you have grown, a favourite mug. Anything that conveys meaning for you.

Adrienne Craddock – I was born and brought up in the beautiful Herefordshire Countryside, a feral child with the riverside to explore. Life’s journey took me to experience the drama of city life in Manchester, where I studied printmaking. Back on home turf, my eyes are reopened to the contrasts and uniqueness of this rural borderland. I now make prints that explore and celebrate my local landscape – awash with colour – to capture its evolving energy and forms.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Countertenor Iestyn Davies is an esteemed interpreter of Handel, and during this busy season sings Bertarido in Rodelinda on tour in the U.S.A. and Asia with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare in his Paris Opera debut, Fileno in Clori, Tirsi e Fileno at Wigmore Hall, and the title role of Orlando with the Academy of Ancient Music and Laurence Cummings. Elsewhere he sings Ottone in Monteverdi’s Poppea with The English Concert in Barcelona and Madrid, Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Atlanta Opera and at Garsington Opera, and the Boy in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. This summer he is making his Australian debut singing J.S. Bach and Arvo Pärt in an extensive solo tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Iestyn has appeared on Broadway in a revival of his West-End theatre project Farinelli and the King with Mark Rylance, which received an Olivier Award nomination.

A celebrated recitalist with repertoire ranging from Dowland to Clapton, he has twice been awarded the Gramophone Recital Award. In 2017 he won the Gramophone Baroque Vocal Award and was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to Music.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence

Corinne Fowler is Professor of Colonialism and Heritage in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. Her latest book is Our Island Stories. Through ten walks, taken with varied companions throughout Britain, she connects the countryside with our colonial history. Linking the Cotswolds with Calcutta in India, Grasmere in the Lake District with Canton, China. And there is a Welsh ramble – The Wool Walk – which explains how the sheep trade of Dolgellau influenced the development of the colony of Virginia in the Americas.

Our Island Stories was inspired by a child led history and writing project she was involved with between 2018 and 2020. Called the Colonial Countryside Initiative, it took inner city children and their parents to National Trust properties. She says, “For me, there is nothing better than hearing a range of British kids talking about what history means to them.”

This in turn led to Professor Fowler being commissioned to do a full audit of National Trust houses, their Imperial past including the Slave Trade. When the co-authored report was published in 2020, she was personally vilified in the press and online as the very embodiment of the ‘Woke Professor’. She was now part of the Culture Wars raging over the meaning and importance of British history. And accused of being ‘unpatriotic’ and ‘at war with the past’.

In response to her critics, she argues that “knowledge is not something to be weaponised, but to be shared”.  And concludes that “dialogue and openness are always the best antidotes to culture war “.

So, who better to invite for a Conversation at  the Chapel.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

SOLD OUT

In conversation with Alastair Laurence

Polly Toynbee has been a Guardian political and social commentator since 1998 and is the former BBC Social Affairs Editor.

Author of Hard Work: Life in Low Pay Britain, she researched this 2003 book by spending periods on the minimum wage as a hospital porter, dinner lady, on the phones in a call centre, factory worker and care home assistant. She also wrote The Verdict, about the New Labour government of Blair and Brown, and The Lost Decade 2010-2020 on recent Tory administrations. Other works include Hospital, a portrait of the NHS, Lost Children, on adoption, and the Way We Live Now. She has won two national press awards and the George Orwell prize.

Her latest book is An Uneasy Inheritance: My family and other radicals, a memoir and a tale of British social class. Reviews have called it a ‘work of love, forgiveness and understanding’ and a ‘laceratingly honest and often funny book.’

Since 2021 Polly Toynbee has been a patron of My Death, My Decision, a campaigning group for assisted dying reform.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

Get inky – with drawing ink, brushes and bleach to create tonal drawings inspired by the beautiful surrounding landscape of Abergavenny.

Adrienne Craddock – I was born and brought up in the beautiful Herefordshire Countryside, a feral child with the riverside to explore. Life’s journey took me to experience the drama of city life in Manchester, where I studied printmaking. Back on home turf, my eyes are reopened to the contrasts and uniqueness of this rural borderland. I now make prints that explore and celebrate my local landscape – awash with colour – to capture its evolving energy and forms.

Using traditional drawing materials and water-based mixed-media, this class will offer opportunities for experimentation and play. Develop your observation skills, whilst building confidence and familiarity with a variety of mediums to make a still life mixed media drawing.

Kumar Saraff studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, going onto study painting at the Royal Academy Schools. Here he won several awards and prizes, including the David Murray travel scholarship for landscape painting and a silver medal for excellence in painting.Kumar’s art has its origins in a European landscape painting tradition, using the colour and form of light effects on landscape to take the viewer on an exploration of paint on surface.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

In an illustrious and award-winning career composer George Fenton has written scores for over 200 films, documentaries, TV series and theatre productions.

He was first nominated for an Academy Award in 1982 with Ravi Shankar for the score to Richard Attenborough’s biopic Gandhi. And went on to write for another four Attenborough films including Cry Freedom and Shadowlands. George has worked with many other film directors. With Ken Loach he has written scores for 18 films including Land and Freedom, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, I Daniel Blake and most recently The Old Oak. His many other film credits include The Company of Wolves, Dangerous Liaisons, The Fisher King and Groundhog Day. 

For television he has enjoyed a long collaboration with writer Alan Bennett, writing music for his monologues Talking Heads and Telling Tales. Other TV credits include classic series like The Jewel in the Crown, The Monocled Mutineer and The History Man. In 1990 George began composing for the BBC Natural History Unit on series like Trials of Life and Life in the Freezer.  This led him to write soundtracks for the original Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet series. He has also penned many very well-known TV theme tunes including Shoestring, Bergerac, Omnibus, Newsnight, Telly Addicts and Breakfast Time.

Theatre work has included productions with director Peter Gill of Twelfth Night, Macbeth, Othello, Anthony and Cleopatra, and the original production of Good at the RSC. He wrote music for Racing Demon and A Month in The Country at the National Theatre. And has worked on many other productions in Manchester, Nottingham, Chichester, the Royal Court in London and recently at the Josephstadt Theatre in Vienna.

The music of George Fenton has been recognised with numerous awards: that include 5 Oscar nominations, multiple Ivor Novellos, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy and Lifetime Achievement awards from The World Soundtrack Awards and National Television Awards.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

After a decade releasing critically celebrated albums (BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners of ‘Best Original Track’ 2016 and ‘Best Group’ nominees in 2019) and touring across the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, France, Denmark, Czech Republic and as far as Australia, The Rheingans Sisters will release their much anticipated fifth studio album in 2024! Produced by New York based Adam Pietrykowski (whose work includes Lady Maisery’s latest album tender) the visionary duo’s new album will also feature collaborations with stars of the contemporary old-time American scene, combining grounded yet soaring sonic contributions to the sisters’ already celebrated genre of “avant-garde trad” (Songlines).

Influenced as ever by the past, The Rheingans Sisters’ music continues to lean defiantly forward. Their fourth album Receiver (“a masterpiece of modern folk music” FRUK) which reached #2 in Transglobal World Music Charts and was rated one of the Top Ten Essential Folk Albums of 2020 by Songlines Magazine, blended the sounds of century-old recordings of Norwegian fiddlers and dancing feet with songs in ancient Occitan language and true stories from the Northern Irish Civil Rights movement alongside future-yearning, minimalist and painterly compositions describing modern and often urban experience with the warmth and empathy their songwriting has become well known for (“truly in a league of their own”– RnR Magazine) with sounds of electric guitar and synth underpinning raw textures of fiddles, feet and medieval bass drones of the tambourin à cordes.

The Rheingans Sisters new record will be about the here and now: indeed, about the very moment in which music is happening, is released, is most alive in the world. As ever, the presence of risk, adventure and improvisation during live shows makes the sisters lean towards each other and keeps their audience at the edge of their seats while simultaneously held in a shared musical journey unlike any other.

The new album will be released in summer 2024, supported by four national tours over 2024-2025 and two summer festival seasons.

‘Scandi-noir, but tinged with joy and avant-garde trad’ SONGLINES

‘Brilliant complexity and sparkling diversity on show’  FOLK RADIO UK

‘Gorgeously seasonal’  MARK RADCLIFFE, BBC RADIO 2 FOLK SHOW

‘The Rheingans Sisters are unique; their songs and tunes are special,completely absorbing, alluring, simple yet totally complicated’  FOLK WALES ONLINE

MONOPRINTING

Share Adrienne’s love of Monoprinting. This process is a single (mono meaning ‘one’), printed image and a very painterly form of printmaking.

You will use clear acrylic sheet which is inked with rollers or painted onto and the ink drawn into with tools or rags. You can print several layers on top of each other and create a depth of colour. The plate will be printed onto paper through the chapel’s lovely vintage etching press.

Adrienne Says – ‘ I find monoprinting a seductive process, that captures the energy of brushstrokes and mark making. It enables you to make ‘paintings’ reasonably swiftly, and mixing the coloured viscose inks on the plate is a satisfyingly child like indulgence. Who hasn’t taken pleasure in applying paint to a surface – as we did as school children when we folded paper in half and made ‘symmetrical’ butterfly images – to see what image will appear.’

JOIN US TO CELEBRATE THE PUBLICATION OF ROSIE SYKES’ LATEST COOKBOOK ‘EVERY LAST BITE’.

In a time when more and more of us want to shop well and cook and eat sustainably, Every Last Bite offers recipes, tips and practical advice for preparing great food on a budget, with very little waste, and using less energy and resources. Rosie is a friend of the chapel who has been here since its beginnings helping to set up and run the kitchen. She has worked alongside such chefs as Joyce Molyneux, Shaun Hill and Alastair Little to name a few.

Rosie will be cooking dinner using recipes from the book and be on hand to sign books and chat…

On arrival…
GLASS OF DAFFODIL SPRITZ & CAERPHILLY & LEEK MINI TOASTS
–
Starter
FENNEL AND SATSUMA SALAD WITH FETA
–
Main Course
LAMB MEATBALLS, BARLEY COUSCOUS, JEWELLED RED CABBAGE SLAW
or  SPICED CHICKPEA & CAULIFLOWER CAKES,  BARLEY COUSCOUS, JEWELLED RED CABBAGE SLAW
–
Pudding
CHOCOLATE COCONUT SQUARES, CHOCOLATE SAUCE & CREAM

Booking essential. See below for details.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence

Peter Tatchell was a leading activist in the Gay Liberation Front 1971-74 and in the queer human rights group OutRage! 1990-2011.Together with 30 other members of the GLF, Peter helped organise and publicise the UK’s first Pride parade, in London on 1 July 1972. He has marched in every Pride London since then.

Peter stood as the Labour candidate in the 1983 Bermondsey by-election. He was defeated in the dirtiest, most violent and homophobic election in modern British history. He disrupted Professor Hans Eysenck’s 1972 lecture which advocated electric shock aversion therapy to “cure” homosexuality. The following year, in East Berlin, he was arrested and interrogated by the secret police – the Stasi – after staging the first ever gay rights protest in a communist country. After playing a prominent role in the London chapter of the AIDS activist group ACT UP, in 1990 he and 30 other people jointly founded the radical queer human rights direct action movement OutRage! He attempted another citizen’s arrest of President Mugabe in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel in Brussels in March 2001, which resulted in him being beaten unconscious by Mugabe’s bodyguards and suffering permanent minor eye and brain damage. And participated in the attempted Moscow Gay Pride marches in 2007, in solidarity with Russian LGBT campaigners. Together with others, he was beaten up by neo-Nazis, ultra-nationalists and fundamentalist Christians.

Peter’s key political inspirations are Mahatma Gandhi, Sylvia Pankhurst, Martin Luther King and, to some extent, Malcolm X and Rosa Luxemburg.There is currently a Netflix documentary about his life, Hating Peter Tatchell.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

* Ticket sales for this evening will go to The Peter Tatchell Foundation that seeks to promote and protect the human rights of individuals, communities and nations, in the UK and internationally.

In conversation with Alastair Lawrence.

Mali Morris is an abstract artist whose paintings have a fascination with colour and light. Hers is an art of directness with paint, of layering and transparencies, with luminosity as the aim.

Mali Morris was born in 1945 and raised in North Wales with a Welsh speaking father. She had a childhood in the mountains of Snowdonia and by the sea near the Menai Strait where she remembers the ‘dance of space’ over the water. For her recent appearance on the Radio 3 programme Private Passions, she chose the traditional Welsh song Ar lan y mor, sung by Bryn Terfel.

She studied fine art at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where pop artist Richard Hamilton ran the first year. Her first solo exhibitions were at the Serpentine Summer Show in London, 1977 and the Ikon Gallery, 1979. And it is there in Birmingham that Mali has had her most recent show. A big project of public art saw banners of her work hung above Bond Street in 2022.

Mali Morris has taught at many Departments of Fine Art latterly at Chelsea School of Art until 2005. In March 2010 she was elected as a Member of the Royal Academy of Arts and shows at the summer exhibitions there.

As a Bob Dylan fan she calls her own career a never-ending tour where curiosity ensures that there is always something around the corner. Where doubt is important, but a certain amount of confidence is needed too. And putting in those many hours, day after day in her studio. This is in an old warehouse by Deptford Creek in London. Here Mali is part of the Art in Perpetuity Trust that also offers affordable gallery space and educational programmes in the local community.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

Photo – Mali Morris – credit Steve Lewis.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

The latest book by Blake Morrison is Two Sisters, a memoir about his sister and half-sister. A companion publication to this is his recently published collection of poems Skin and Blister.

Other memoirs include the ground-breaking and best-selling And When Did You Last See Your Father? and Things My Mother Never Told Me. Other poetry includes Dark Glasses, The Ballad of the Yorkshire Ripper, This Poem and Shingle Street. He has also written four novels, including The Last Weekend and The Executor.

Blake is an extraordinary chronicler of human frailty.

He was born in Skipton, Yorkshire, and was formerly literary editor of the Observer and the Independent on Sunday. And has won various awards, including the Eric Gregory, E.M. Forster and J.R. Ackerley prizes. He has been professor of creative and life writing at Goldsmiths University since 2003.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

‘INKY DAYS – CREATURES SMALL & GREAT’

Drypoint – is the process of scratching lines and marks into a surface with a sharp point which is then inked and printed with damp paper.

In this workshop, Adrienne will show you how to create your image using a transparent acrylic plate which will be then printed with the Chapel’s vintage etching press. Your plate can be printed in colour or monochrome and can be re-worked several times. It is perfect for very detailed line recording.

The theme will be creatures and animals. You can bring your own animal or pet photos to work from or alternatively use some of the inspirational images that Adrienne will bring.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

This is an evening about one of the great British artists of the twentieth century. David Jones was a painter, printmaker, illustrator, poet, and essayist. Kenneth Clark, T. S. Eliot and Igor Stravinsky among others called him a genius.

Dr Peter Wakelin is the curator of a brilliant and beautiful exhibition of the paintings and drawings of Jones currently taking place at Y Gaer, Brecknock Museum and Gallery, Brecon. In the run up to this evening we suggest that you might want to see Hill Rhythms and this glorious artwork for yourself. This is open seven days a week and has free entry.

At the heart of Hill Rhythms is work done by David Jones in the 1920s when he lived at Capel–y–ffin in the Black Mountains. There he lived in a former monastery, with a Roman Catholic community brought together by the sculptor and printmaker Eric Gill. This period was for Jones a ‘new beginning’. Here he recovered from the traumas of the First World War where he was a private in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and fought at the battle for Mametz Wood. All that Jones did after this period in his life was influenced by his immersion in the landscape of the Llanthony Valley. It had an influence on his modernist masterpiece, the long poem In Parenthesis.

Dr Peter Wakelin has published books on the artists Charles Burton, Roger Cecil, Falcon Hildred and Sally Moore and has written for Art Review, Modern Painters and The Guardian. Among his exhibitions are Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art at the Royal West of England Academy and Romanticism in the Welsh Landscape at MoMA Machynlleth. He was formerly Director of Collections at Amgueddfa Cymru-Museum Wales and Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. He is President of the Contemporary Art Society for Wales.

A welcome return once again to the Chapel!

The Brother Brothers are the indie folk duo of Adam and David Moss. The identical twins were born and raised in Peoria, Illinois and originally based in Brooklyn, but have been ultimately and profoundly shaped by indiscriminate rambling. They are the kind of people who have a story about everything, and more so, one you might genuinely like to hear.

Now touring their newest album Cover to Cover, their 3rd release on compass records is a requisite album of covers, inspired by an inward reflection of the roots of their inspiration during a time of great uncertainty and creative insecurity. The Brother Brothers sing from the heart no matter whose words they’re using, and called in some good old friends to play on the album, including Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive), Sarah Jarosz, Michaela Anne, Alison Brown, and hired some of Nashville’s finest session musicians, namely Jeff Picker (Ricky Skaggs/Nickel Creek), Matthew Meyer, Ryan Scott and Michael Rinne.

American Songwriter once said, “no matter what musical context Adam and David Moss may come to put themselves in, what the duo want to say through music will always come to show the beauty that exists – even in the deepest cracks – of human living.”

Proclaims No Depression “the warm harmonies and silky melodies of identical twins David and Adam Moss evoke the kind of ’60s-era folk tunes that reverberated through dark, woodpanelled bars in the Village… If these brothers aren’t among the Americana Music Association’s nominees for Emerging Artist or Duo-Group, I want a recount.”

The Brother Brothers’ luminous touring career spans international headlining, support runs with the likes of Keb Mo, I’m With Her, Big Thief, Lake Street Dive, and Shakey Graves, as well as key plays at NPR’s Mountain Stage, FreshGrass Festival, Folk Alliance, Woodford Folk, Nelsonville Music Festival, and Edmonton Folk among others.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Laura Cumming’s latest book Thunderclap is a memoir that connects her own life with that of her father’s paintings and those of the Dutch Golden Age.

She has been chief art critic of the Observer since 1999. Her other books include A Face to the World: On Self-Portraits (2009) and The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velázquez (2016) which won the James Tait Black Biography Prize. Her previous family memoir, On Chapel Sands: my mother and other Missing Persons (2019) was a Sunday Times bestseller and shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford, Costa and Rathbone’s Folio prizes.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

SUPERB REVIEWS FOR THUNDERCLAP…

‘A book that often borders on the sublime in its sentiment and beauty.’  Sunday Times

‘Cumming is a word-painter … When something fascinates Laura Cumming, she makes sure, with her beguiling prose, that we too are caught up in her fascination.’  The Times

‘Cumming writes with the sureness of carefully laid paint… she brings him [Fabritius] out of the shadows, making us see why he is so much more than the missing link in someone else’s story.’  The Guardian

‘[A] lustrous meditation on the lives and after-lives of artists … with a novelist’s pace, a critic’s eye, a daughter’s heart.’  Financial Times

EVENT POSTPONED WITH NEW DATE

ORIGINAL DATE – THURSDAY 20 JULY

CHARITY EVENT

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Baroness Lawrence was born in Jamaica and came to the UK at the age of nine. After leaving school, she married and had three children. Baroness Lawrence was studying as a mature student when her eldest son Stephen was murdered on 22 April 1993. Because of the incompetence and racism evident in the botched investigation by the Metropolitan Police, she was left with no choice “but to challenge the justice system and the police because of their racism against my family.”

Since then, and over thirty years, Baroness Lawrence has continued to work for all those confronted by racial injustice and police corruption. For twenty-two years she was director and president of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Foundation. In September 2013, she became a life peer sitting on the Labour benches in the House of Lords.

She writes: “I continue to provide a ‘legacy of hope’ for young people, in particular boys of colour and disadvantaged communities with educational opportunities, community cohesion, and career advancement.”

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

• * All proceeds for this evening will go to the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation which “exists to inspire a more equitable, inclusive society, and to foster opportunities for marginalised young people in the UK.”

Oceans flow through the centre of Cinder Well’s music. Cadence, the new album from Amelia Baker’s experimental folk project Cinder Well, drifts between two far-flung seas: the hazy California coast where she grew up, and the wind-torn swells of Western Ireland that she’s come to love. Released this April on Free Dirt Records, the album’s name refers to the cycles of our turbulent lives, to the uncertain tides that push us forward and back.

With Cadence, Baker expands Cinder Well’s sound to include percussion as well as trance electric guitar and expansive string parts courtesy of Cormac MacDiarmada of Lankum. While there are still hints of the doom folk that Cinder Well is known for, Cadence balances heavy lyrics with a more expansive sound that nods to LA’s mythical Laurel Canyon years.

“Meandering, non-linear, but full of care and wisdom, it is an astonishingly powerful piece of work that seems to have been conceived in uncertainty but realised with the supreme assurance of one of the most consummate songwriters around.” – Folk Radio UK

10 Best Folk Albums of 2020, The Guardian

NPR Staff Picks, Best Music of 2020

And showcasing EYNON JONES – A vibrant collection of food and drink limited edition giclée prints. Eynon Jones aims to bring positivity and joy through illustration. Commissions include the Guardian, Bombay Sapphire, Haagen-Dazs, Ocado, Time Out and Eurostar.

Available framed & unframed.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence

Peter Taylor’s latest book Operation Chiffon is the secret story of the road to peace in Ireland. He is acknowledged to be one of the BBC’s most distinguished and respected journalists, best known for his coverage of the Irish conflict and political violence over the past 50 years.

He has won many awards for his work including Journalist of the Year, the James Cameron Award and Lifetime Achievement Awards from both BAFTA and the Royal Television Society.

Peter has written nine books, eight of them related to Northern Ireland, terrorism and political violence. His trilogy Provos, Loyalists and Brits is recognised to be a definitive history of the conflict. Operation Chiffon now completes the picture and makes the trilogy a unique quartet.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

“Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.” David Bowie

To coincide with his solo show After the Light from 13 May-24 June at The Art Shop, this will be a supportive and informal drawing class with a professional working artist. Practise drawing from observation, wherever you are on your artistic journey, using demonstrations and exercises to build confidence and develop your artistic abilities. Starting with line, you’ll explore the fall of light over surface. As you draw, you’ll grow your skills in composition, mark-making, tone and measurement; leave feeling that you can step a little deeper.

Kumar studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University and the Royal Academy Schools. Here he won several awards and prizes, including the David Murray travel scholarship for landscape painting and a silver medal for excellence in painting.

Valley studies sketchbook.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

If we want to understand the immense geo-political changes that confront us today, and in the future, there is no better guide than historian and broadcaster Margaret MacMillan. To her we can turn to understand the historical context of such pressing subjects as the war in Ukraine and the rise of China as a superpower. She is a brilliant teacher and explainer.

Margaret is currently Professor of History at the University of Toronto and Emeritus Professor of International History, and the former Warden of St. Antony’s College at Oxford University.

Her books include the award-winning Paris 1919, The Uses and Abuses of History and The War that Ended Peace. Her most recent book is War: How conflict shaped us.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

‘MAPPA MARCHES MAGIC’

Inspired by the Mappa Marches exhibition on show at the Chapel from 13 May-24 June, this workshop will begin with a dynamic large scale drawing session with ink and charcoal using imagery from video film and photos of local landscape. In the afternoon session, Adrienne will guide you to develop coloured monoprint images using rollers, brushes and printing ink on acrylic sheets which can be printed through the Chapel’s vintage etching press.

Adrienne Says – ‘ I find monoprinting a seductive process, that captures the energy of brushstrokes and mark making. It enables you to make ‘paintings’ reasonably swiftly, and mixing the coloured viscose inks on the plate is a satisfyingly child like indulgence. Who hasn’t taken pleasure in applying paint to a surface – as we did as school children when we folded paper in half and made ‘symmetrical’ butterfly images – to see what image will appear.’

3 1/2 hour Life Drawing Workshop led by Louise Brosnan.

Fun-filled drawing exercises and games that will fuel your enthusiasm and enjoyment of life drawing whilst subtly increasing sharpness, speed and accuracy of looking. You’ll be on a learning curve…

Louise graduated with an MA from the Royal College of Art in 1988, after a printmaking extended study course and Fine Arts degree at Camberwell School of Arts. Since then she has successfully worked in many other art forms including textiles, film/animation and ceramics, with a recent return to painting.

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

BLOSSOM TIME

During this late May gong bath, we will align our energies with those of the season, Balance and Unity – Contradictions and Opposites, symbolized by the Hawthorn in the Celtic Calendar, with its thorny branches and abundant blossoms.

A sound meditation to focus on bringing together all those separate parts of ourselves that make the being that we are…so that we too can blossom and bear fruit. Bathe in rejuvenating soundwaves, still the mind and soothe the spirit as you enter the peaceful realm of your deepest self where healing and transformation occurs. The vibrations positively affect the nervous system by slowing respiratory, brain and heart rates, reducing stress and restoring balance and wellbeing.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a comfortable mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water.

Please arrive 15 minutes before start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started.

Chrys Blanchard has lead workshops, composed music and been a Natural Voice choir leader for over 40 years. She has created and directed a number of projects for education, theatre and community as well as Soundscape, a ground breaking, Healing-Sound project that took place annually for 8 years in Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence

Peggy Seeger recorded for the first time at the age of eighteen and has been making albums and playing in front of audiences every decade since the nineteen fifties. Now into her eighties she is still performing, often with her sons Calum and Neill. On any night Peggy will sing about drugs, war, hormones, politicians, unions, women, love or climate change.

Peggy was born into a musical family – her half-brother is Pete Seeger, the folk singer and social activist. As a young woman she left the United States and came to the UK where she met the legendary figure of Ewan MacColl. Peggy became his partner and muse, and for her Ewan wrote The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. They were key figures in the UK folk revival, also working together on an astonishing range of projects demanding social and political change. With the BBC Producer Charles Parker, Peggy and Ewan devised the Radio Ballads that invented the format of modern radio documentary.

Following the death of MacColl in 1989, Peggy formed a personal and professional partnership with Irish traditional singer Irene Pyper-Scott, with whom she is in a civil partnership. Her memoir First Time Ever was published in 2017.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

Contemporary photograph by VICKI SHARP

This course is aimed at all abilities.

Day 1 – You will be experimenting with colour and mark making to create a wonderful array of different effects using textured materials, stencils and paper mask templates. You will learn about the inks and papers that help you generate these exciting images and all without a press.

Day 2 – You have the opportunity to create a simple Concertina Artist Book utilizing all the papers you created on Day 1 and so creating a very unique book of your own.  With the experience from this workshop, you will be able to continue your own explorations with the minimum of equipment at home and on the kitchen table!

Ruth Barrett-Danes is a ceramicist and printmaker whose own work reflects the brooding and sinister landscapes of Dartmoor and the Black Mountains where she once lived.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Jackie Kay was born to a Scottish Mother and Nigerian Father. She was adopted as a baby by a white Scottish couple. Her first poetry collection was called The Adoption Papers. This won the Forward Prize. Ever since, Jackie has been exploring themes of identity, race, nationality, gender and sexuality in her writing. Her extraordinary novel Trumpet was about the American Jazz musician Billy Tipton, a transgender man. She wrote a biography of the bisexual Queen of the Blues, Bessie Smith. This has recently been reissued and made into the Radio 4 Book of the Week. Her autobiography Red Dust Road tells the story of the search for her biological parents.

She has been the National Poet of Scotland, the third Makar, from 2016 to 2021. And many accolades, honours and awards have gone her way during her acclaimed career as a writer. Jackie is a former Chancellor of the University of Salford and is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Jeremy Thomas began his film career working in the cutting rooms and soon became an editor. In 1974, Thomas produced his first film, Philippe Mora’s Mad Dog Morgan starring Dennis Hopper, and then founded Recorded Picture Company.

Thomas has gone on to produce many distinctive films, such as Jerzy Skolimowski’s The Shout, Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing, Eureka and Insignificance, and Nagisa Ôshima’s Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. In 1986, Thomas collaborated with director Bernardo Bertolucci on The Last Emperor, which won nine Academy Awards® including Best Picture, and many other international awards. Thomas went on to make many films with Bertolucci including The Sheltering Sky, Little Buddha, Stealing Beauty and The Dreamers.

Thomas has remained an independent producer, resulting in a diverse body of work, including such titles as David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch, Crash and A Dangerous Method, Takeshi Kitano’s Brother, Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast, David Mackenzie’s Young Adam, the Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki by Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise, Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Blade of the Immortal and First Love, and Tale of Tales, Dogman, and the upcoming Pinocchio by Matteo Garrone.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Who hasn’t Glyn Johns worked with in a lifetime of recording hits? He has engineered or produced the best in the business: Abbey Road with The Beatles, the debut albums of Led Zeppelin and The Eagles and Who’s Next by The Who.

Glyn has also worked with The Rolling Stones, The Small Faces, Eric Clapton, The Faces, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Ryan Adams and many, many more! He was there for some of the most iconic moments in Rock history, including Jimi Hendrix at The Albert Hall, The Stones first European tour and The Beatles final performance on the roof of Apple Records, Savile Row.

Glyn was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Hear him talk about the art and craft of his work, the astonishing artists he has worked with and continues to do so, after many decades in the music business. What does a sound engineer and record producer do?  What skills and qualities are needed? And how to work with all those massive egos and survive?  Come along and get the answers!

To see Glyn Johns at work look at the extraordinary documentary series ‘Get Back’ where he is at the heart of recording the music the Fab Four are working towards that ends up with that gig on the roof.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

Photographs by GERED MANKOVITZ  © ICONIC IMAGES Ltd 2022

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm (3.45pm arrival) / 7.30-9pm (7.15pm arrival) 

AWAKENING

It will soon be Imbolc in the Celtic Calendar. It is still cold, but new buds are showing and the first bulbs are pushing through the earth. The light is beginning to grow. It’s a time of new beginnings and awakening from the winter sleep.

Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in wave upon wave of profound resonance. These meditations, brimming with healing sound waves, resonate every cell in your body, stilling the mind, relaxing the body and soothing the spirit, and they enable powerful shifts to take place, bringing positive change.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a comfortable mat to lie on (or reclining deckchair), a warm blanket, pillow and drinking water.

Please arrive 15 minutes before start. It is not possible to enter once the Gong Bath has started.

Chrys Blanchard has lead workshops, composed music and been a Natural Voice choir leader for over 40 years. She has created and directed a number of projects for education, theatre and community as well as Soundscape, a ground breaking, Healing-Sound project that took place annually for 8 years in Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital.

NEW DATE FOR POSTPONED EVENT.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Cornelia Parker is one of Britain’s leading contemporary artists, responsible for some of the most unique and unforgettable artworks of the past thirty years. Driven by curiosity, Parker transforms seemingly everyday objects into extraordinary works of art. Through visual allusions and metaphors, Parker’s works explore contemporary issues such as violence, human rights and environmental disaster. Cornelia has created widely celebrated and immersive installations, sculptures, film, photography and drawing.

A major retrospective of her work took place at Tate Britain in London until late October this year to rave reviews.

Laura Cumming wrote in The Observer that it was ‘entralling’: “At 65, with her poetic and highly original imagination, Parker has made enough masterpieces to fill a full-scale retrospective and even spill out into the surrounding galleries.” 

Jackie Wullschlager in The Financial Times wrote: “For the first time this century, Tate Britain outshines Tate Modern to become the home to the most dazzling contemporary art on show in London.”

And Alastair Sooke in The Daily Telegraph: “This new retrospective for the 65 year old British artist is a whirl of destructive energy that wears its political sentiments on its sleeve.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Dame Sarah Connolly is a brilliant and celebrated Mezzo Soprano. Her recent highlights in opera have included Fricka (Covent Garden, Teatro Réal & Bayreuther Festspiele) Brangäne Tristan und Isolde (Covent Garden, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Glyndebourne Festival & Gran Teatro del Liceu); Komponist Ariadne auf Naxos and Clairon Capriccio (Metropolitan Opera); the title role in Giulio Cesare and Gertrude in the world premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet (Metropolitan Opera & Glyndebourne Festival); the title role in Ariodante (Wiener Staatsoper, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence & Dutch National Opera); Sesto La clemenza di Tito (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence); Purcell’s Dido (Teatro alla Scala & Covent Garden); Jocaste in Enescu’s OEdipe (Covent Garden); Gluck’s Orfeo and the title role in The Rape of Lucretia (Bayerische Staatsoper); Phèdre Hippolyte et Aricie (Opéra national de Paris & Glyndebourne Festival) and the title role in Agrippina and Nerone L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Gran Teatro del Liceu).

Dame Sarah has also appeared in recital in London, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Geneva, Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Atlanta, Stuttgart; at the Incontri in Terra di Siena La Foce and the Schubertiada Vilabertran and at the Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Edinburgh and Oxford Lieder Festivals. In the 2018/19 season she curated a Residency at Wigmore Hall.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

An evening with the KAKATSITSI MASTER DRUMMERS from Ghana performing upstairs at the Chapel.

During the afternoon there will be an incredible opportunity to learn from the masters themselves in a drumming and dance workshop (see details below).

 Kakatsitsi are a group of traditional drummers, dancers and singers from the Ga tribe of Southern Ghana, with their roots in the fishing community of Jamestown, Accra. Their music takes traditional rhythms and chants from their own Ga tradition and those of a variety of other West African cultures, rearranging them in a modern and accessible way. Since 1996, Kakatsitsi have toured the UK 15 times, including high profile performances at WOMAD, Glastonbury and many other festivals and venues. The recent addition of a strong dance element, to complement the already outstanding drumming and singing components, has established Kakatsitsi as one of the leading drumming groups in Africa. Their performances are both richly entertaining and educational, giving audiences an insight into one of Africa’s richest drumming and dance cultures.

Kakatsitsi’s music combines traditional drumming grooves played on a wide variety of West African drums with traditional chants sung in six part harmony, the quality of which sets them above most dance-led traditional African groups.

DRUMMING WORKSHOP FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER 1.30-3pm 

This drumming and dance workshop is a unique chance to learn from the masters! You will learn some of the different techniques used in creating different sounds and rhythms from traditional djebme and kpanlogo drums, and the final session will be a “follow the leader” style dance lesson. All abilities welcome, suitable for ages 9+.

Charity Event – Violence against Women

One woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK – a figure unchanged in a decade. We are facing an epidemic of male violence. Since 2021 Yvonne Roberts has been working on a campaigning series of articles for The Observer about this crisis. She is our guest to discuss and debate violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. And to ask what can, and must be done, to stop this. This evening coincides with International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and a period of activism connected with that.

Please support in whatever way you can this charity event. All money from tickets and other donations will go to local charities who are working day to day with victims of violence and abuse.

Yvonne Roberts has been an award-winning journalist in television, newspapers, magazine and radio for over fifty years. The former Chief leader writer of The Observer, she has also written several non-fiction and fiction books. After ten years as a foreign news reporter, she has focussed more on investigations, politics, all aspects of social policy and feminism both as a feature writer and a columnist.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

World-touring acoustic blues pioneer Catfish Keith has established himself as one of the most exciting country blues performers of our time. Catfish’s innovative style of foot-stomping, deep delta blues and American roots music has spellbound audiences the world over.

He has reinvented the guitar with great power and artistry, and brings a rare beauty and vitality to his music. Handing down the tradition, Catfish continues his lifelong journey as one of the brightest lights in acoustic blues and roots music.

Catfish Keith won both the 2021 and 2019 Blues Blast Music Award for BEST ACOUSTIC BLUES ALBUM. Catfish has been considered for thirteen GRAMMY AWARD nominations. He is a six-time Blues Music Award nominee for BEST ACOUSTIC BLUES ALBUM & ARTIST by The Blues Foundation in Memphis, including for his latest album, Land of the Sky.

Catfish has twenty NUMBER ONE independent radio chart-topping albums to his credit, and packs houses all over the world with his dynamic stage show. He plans to record and release a brand new album in 2022.

A 2008 inductee into the IA BLUES HALL OF FAME, the 40-plus year veteran has performed thousands of gigs, touring throughout North America, the UK, Europe and Asia to wide acclaim, headlining major music festivals, and appearing with legends John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor, Taj Mahal, Leo Kottke, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Johnny Shines, John Fahey and many, many others.

Welcome Catfish Keith on his 51st tour of the UK and Ireland since 1992.

REST & RENEWAL

SAMHAIN – Fire Festival – end of the season of growth and the beginning the Celtic New Year

“Let go of that which doesn’t serve you so that you can rest uncluttered. Enjoy the peace and the darkness as you dream new dreams and see new potential”

Lie down, close your eyes and immerse yourself in wave upon wave of profound resonance. These meditations, brimming with healing sound waves, resonate every cell in your body, stilling the mind, relaxing the body and soothing the spirit, and they enable powerful shifts to take place, bringing positive change.

You will be asked to bring a mat, a blanket and comfortable clothing. Gongs are powerful instruments of change that resonate through your body like a massage, the effects of which should last for several days after the session.

Chrys Blanchard has lead workshops, composed music and lead choirs for 42 years. She creates and directs a number of projects for education, theatre and community as well as running a sound-healing workshop in Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital for the last 7 years.

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm / 7.30-9pm.  Arrive 15mins before start.

The Rheingans Sisters make playful, powerful and richly connecting music that is wholly contemporary while deeply anchored in folk traditions. A unique and unmissable act on the folk and world music stage today, Rowan and Anna play a plethora of instruments in their live shows, many of them handmade by their luthier father Helmut Rheingans who is based in their native Peak District home.

Over the last five years, three critically acclaimed albums and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award win for ‘Best Original Track’ in 2016, audiences across the UK, Europe and  Australia have been utterly captivated by their very special live performances. Drawing on their pan-European musical scholarship and their spirited mission to make connections between the music  of different geographical roots, they have developed a rich artistic approach to the deconstruction and reimagining of traditional music alongside their own beguiling compositions. Performing live, the sisters are inimitable; full-hearted performers and spontaneous, on-stage improvisors, with adventurous use of fiddles, voices, banjo, bansitar, tambourin à cordes, spoken word, dancing feet and percussion.

The Rheingans Sisters released their critically acclaimed fourth album Receiver in 2020 on the Bendigedig Label.

The award-winning multi-instrumentalists, composers and folk scholars were nominated for ‘Best Duo/Group’ at 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

‘Scandi-noir, but tinged with joy and avant-garde trad’ Songlines

‘Brilliant complexity and sparkling diversity on show’ Folk Radio UK

‘Gorgeously seasonal’ Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2 Folk Show

‘The Rheingans Sisters are unique; their songs and tunes are special, completely absorbing, alluring, simple yet totally complicated’ Folk Wales Online

Intended for anyone who has ever picked up a pencil and wished that they could really draw. These practical workshops will look closely at different approaches to drawing, building the confidence and skills you need to use drawing in your own practice. A real journey of discovery into the process of drawing and mark-making. The workshops are also fun.

Friday 22 April  THE LANGUAGE OF DRAWING – only marks on a surface

Friday 20 May  OUTLINES AND  EDGES OF THINGS – the importance of edges and how to draw them

Friday 17 June  DISCOVERING FORM – we draw in 2 dimensions but the world is in 3 dimensions. How does that work?

Friday 30 September   LOOKING AT THE LIGHT – light makes the world visible, but how can we draw it?    MAKING THE ORDINARY EXTRA ORDINARY – what things can we draw?

Dr. Alli Neal left her job as course leader for the BA in Fine Art at the Hereford College of Arts to complete a PhD on contemporary drawing practice. She is now concentrating on developing her own drawing and painting practice.  

A welcome return to the Chapel to the indie folk duo of Adam and David Moss – The Brother Brothers. They will be supported by Scottish born, New York dwelling singer-songwriter, fiddle player and composer, Hannah Read.

The identical twins were born and raised in Peoria, Illinois and originally based in Brooklyn, but have been ultimately and profoundly shaped by indiscriminate rambling. They use minimal instrumentation, heartfelt lyricism, and harmonies so natural they seem to blend into one beautiful voice. They are the kind of people who have a story about everything, and more so, one you might genuinely like to hear. Plopped atop virtuosic musicianship and enlivened by true blood harmonies, these stories come to life on the band’s stunning sophomore album Calla Lily, produced by Grammy-nominated Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Vance Joy).

According to American Songwriter, “Calla Lily proves that no matter what musical context Adam and David Moss may come to put themselves in, what the duo want to say through music will always come to show the beauty that exists – even in the deepest cracks – of human living.”

Proclaims No Depression, “the warm harmonies and silky melodies of identical twins David and Adam Moss evoke the kind of ’60s-era folk tunes that reverberated through dark, wood-paneled bars in the Village… If these brothers aren’t among the Americana Music Association’s nominees for Emerging Artist or Duo-Group, I want a recount.”

The Brother Brothers’ luminous touring career spans international headlining, support runs with the likes of I’m With Her, Big Thief, Lake Street Dive, and Shakey Graves, as well as key plays at NPR’s Mountain Stage, FreshGrass Festival, Folk Alliance, Woodford Folk, Nelsonville Music Festival, and Edmonton Folk among others.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

There is no present in Wales,
And no future;
There is only the past,
Brittle with relics. 

‘A Welsh Landscape’ by R. S. Thomas

Richard King is the author of the recently published Brittle With Relics, a landmark history of the people of Wales during a period of great national change.  He has also written 1962–97, Original Rockers (shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and a Rough Trade, The Times and Uncut Book of the Year), How Soon Is Now? (The Sunday Times Music Book of the Year) and The Lark Ascending (a Rough Trade, Mojo and Evening Standard Book of the Year, shortlisted for the Penderyn Prize), all published by Faber & Faber. Richard was born into a bilingual family in South Wales and for the last twenty years has lived in the rural county of Powys, Mid Wales.

REVIEWS OF BRITTLE WITH RELICS…

‘A testament to the brutal circumstances that bonded the communities of Wales into a new polity for the twenty-first century.’ Gruff Rhys

‘Richly humane, viscerally political, generously multi-voiced, Brittle with Relics is oral history at its revelatory best: containing multitudes and powerfully evoking that most remote but also resonant of times, the day before yesterday.’ David Kynaston

‘Superb… deeply moving… A thought-provoking and superbly edited book, very balanced, with lots of points of view represented.’ Roger Lewis, Daily Telegraph

‘Brittle With Relics is nuanced, passionate and reflective, conveying a very Welsh blend of fatalism and hope.’ Rhian E. Jones, History Today

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

A Private View, Talk and Summer Supper at the Chapel, Market street…

5pm  Join us downstairs for a PRIVATE VIEW OF PAINTINGS BY GEORGE ROWLETT of Sarah Price’s studio garden, Abergavenny. George spent a week one summer, during a heatwave, in Sarah Price’s garden, immersed amongst swathes of hollyhocks, verbena bonariensis, fennel, quaking grasses and dahlias to name just a few varieties. Using only the 3 primary oil colours and white, he produced a dazzling, rich body of paintings.

Exhibition continues until 24 September.

6.30pm   A TALK WITH SARAH PRICE, who has established herself as one of the most prominent and sought-after garden designers in Britain. Drawing on her fine art degree training and a life-long love of wild and natural environments, her gardens have an immersive quality and are often described as ‘painterly’. She designed and planted the Chapel garden, transforming a bleak and empty yard into a magical space.

Sarah has won numerous awards and gold medals at RHS Chelsea. She is contributing editor for Gardens Illustrated, House & Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts Magazine and The Telegraph. “Violets and purples are unusual colours to see in a garden painting but where we live in South Wales you see these colours at sunset. At that time of day you can look at a garden and see it in a purely visual, sensual way. I step back and enjoy being propelled into that moment – a joyful moment. This is why I make gardens.”

7.30pm onwards. A delectable ‘SEASONAL SUMMER SUPPER’  £45 for 3 course and a fizz.

Booking essential for the supper, please phone 01873 736430 or email events@artshopandchapel.co.uk

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Oliver Bullough’s latest book Butler to the World reveals how the UK’s Establishment has put itself at the service of the global super-rich, oligarchs, kleptocrats and gangsters. This is a snappy, polemical follow up to Money Land. Reviewing this, John le Carre urged that “Every politician and moneyman on the planet should read it.” 

Oliver’s journalism appears in the Sunday Times, the Guardian, the New York Times, GQ magazine and elsewhere.

SOME RECENT REVIEWS OF BUTLER TO THE WORLD…

An urgent account of Britain’s history of welcoming corrupt capital… Mr Bullough argues compellingly that though more anti-corruption funds and tougher enforcement are welcome, what is really needed is a change of philosophy: for principles to take precedence over the profits of a few.  – The Economist

This is an absolute must-read for everyone who wants to understand Britain’s crucial role in the global dirty money crisis. British institutions, our laws, our people and our failure to police effectively means – as Bullough demonstrates – that we are the servants to kleptocrats, money launderers and serious criminals. With the brilliant concept of Britain as the butler, Bullough lifts the lid and explains in a very clear and intelligible way why and how Britain is facilitating illicit finance across the world. The narrative is gripping, the analysis original and powerful and the detailed examples terrifying. This book will provide a powerful contribution to the important debate on the UK and dirty money. – Margaret Hodge, MP and Chair of the Public Accounts Committee

Oliver Bullough unsparingly reveals the devastating facts behind Britain’s dirty financial secrets and moral guilt while directly challenging the UK to clean up its act. This book is a must-read for those who care about our reputation in the world today. – Andrew Mitchell MP, former British International Development Minister

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

William Dalrymple is the bestselling author of the Wolfson Prize-winning White Mughals, The Last Mughal, which won the Duff Cooper Prize, and the Hemingway and Kapucinski Prize-winning Return of a King. His most recent book, The Anarchy, was long listed for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2019, and short listed for the Duke of Wellington medal for Military History, the Tata Book of the Year (Non-fiction) and the Historical Writers Association Book Award 2020. It was a Finalist for the Cundill Prize for History and won the 2020 Arthur Ross Medal from the US Council on Foreign Relations.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken.

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Fellow writers have raved about Tessa Hadley’s latest book Free Love. Marian Keyes said, “I loved this book!!!!!”  Colm Toibin commended it as “beautifully structured and brilliantly paced”.

So please come and hear Tessa talk about this and her other writing.

Other novels The Past andLate in the Day – and three collections of short stories. Tessa publishes short stories regularly in the New Yorker, and reviews for the Guardian and the London Review of Books; she was awarded a Windham Campbell prize for Fiction and the Hawthornden Prize in 2016, and the Edge Hill Prize in 2018.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken.

PRE-TALK SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. YOUR SEAT WILL BE RESERVED FOR THE EVENT UPSTAIRS. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

A RETURN TO THE CHAPEL FOR AMERICAN COUNTRY BLUES MUSICIAN, CHARLIE PARR.

Charlie’s new album, Last of The Better Days Ahead, is a collection of powerful songs about how one looks back on a life lived, as well as forward on what’s still to come. Its spare production foregrounds Parr’s poetic lyricism, his expressive, gritty voice ringing clear over deft acoustic guitar playing that references folk and blues motifs in Parr’s own exploratory, idiosyncratic style. “Last of the Better Days Ahead is a way for me to refer to the times I’m living in,” says Parr. “I’m getting on in years, experiencing a shift in perspective that was once described by my mom as ‘a time when we turn from gazing into the future to gazing back at the past, as if we’re adrift in the current, slowly turning around.’ Some songs came from meditations on the fact that the portion of our brain devoted to memory is also the portion responsible for imagination, and what that entails for the collected experiences that we refer to as our lives. Other songs are cultivated primarily from the imagination, but also contain memories of what may be a real landscape, or at least one inspired by vivid dreaming.”

This course is aimed at all abilities. You will be experimenting with colour and mark making to create a wonderful array of different effects using textured materials, stencils and paper mask templates. You will learn about the inks and papers that help you generate these exciting images and all without a press. You will have the opportunity to cut a simple lino block and by over layering the image with stencils and masking create unique monoprint images. With the experience from this workshop you will be able to continue your own explorations with the minimum of equipment at home and on the kitchen table!

Day 1 – Using blank lino blocks to explore the range of marks that can be achieved by the use of simple templates and impressing textures from found materials and stencils. Initial colours are printed and then further layers are added to build a more complex image. Practicing overprinting, using inks, rolling up and hand burnishing. These processes can be carried on at home.

Day 2 – Cutting a simple design into lino, printing by hand and using the experiences of the previous day. Throughout the course there will be plenty of examples of the process and refence material to help with the imagery.

Ruth Barrett-Danes is a ceramicist and printmaker whose own work reflects the brooding and sinister landscapes of Dartmoor and the Black Mountains where she lived.

Campaigners – Kim Waters – Welsh Rivers Union and Charles Watson – River Action UK – in conversation with Alastair Laurence

Our local rivers are in bad health. Why is this? Who is responsible? Who is accountable? And what can each of us do to end this environmental crisis. To find answers to these questions please come to The Chapel in Abergavenny the evening of Tuesday 26 April.

All are invited to add their own contributions to the debate.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken.

PRE-TALK SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

In conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Jeremy Deller is the conceptual, video and installation artist behind some of the most original and provocative projects of the last twenty-five years. They include “Acid Brass” with a colliery band, the re-enactment of The Battle of Orgreave from the 1984 Miners Strike, commemorating the fallen of WW1 – “We’re Here Because We’re Here“, and Iggy Pop Life Class. 

When asked on Desert Island Discs for his luxury item, Jeremy asked for a drive up the Llanthony Valley!

He won the Turner Prize in 2004.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken.

PRE-TALK SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Hannah James and Toby Kuhn are a dazzling combination.

 If you’re looking for warmth, honesty and musical excellence, look no further. This folk is full of soul.

Hannah and Toby met in Summer 2018 at Floating Castle festival in Slovenia and it was clear that these two musicians shared a common approach to music making and a real artistic chemistry. Award-winning folk musician, dancer and composer Hannah James is complemented perfectly by the virtuoso cello of Toby Kuhn. Known for her work with Lady Maisery, Maddy Prior, Sam Sweeney, Seasick Steve and Songs of Separation (with Eliza Carthy and Karina Polwart and more), Hannah is one of the key figures in the modern UK folk scene. Rooted in the English Tradition but enriched by her collaborations all over Europe, her charismatic blend of accordion, vocal and clog dancing forged an instant artistic chemistry with impressive French cellist Toby Kuhn.

Toby is a post-classical musician with a taste for improvisation and folk music of all persuasions. Always on the lookout for new ways to play his instrument, his unorthodox approach has won admiration and acclaim from Japan to Canada, bringing the full potential of the cello with him on his journey across style and invention.

Together, their music is soulful, original and conversational. The combination of accordion and cello allows for a huge palette of sounds and textures which lift James’s pure voice and deeply honest songwriting. In the next breath they switch to choppy rhythms and joyful interplay between cello and percussive dance. This duo deliver a diverse, playful and hugely original performance. Their debut album “Sleeping Spirals” has just been released to considerable acclaim.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken to ensure safety.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

In conversation with Alastair Laurence

Posy Simmonds is an author, illustrator and newspaper cartoonist. In a career spanning over 50 years, she has drawn mainly for The Guardian. Her graphic novels, Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe, were originally serialised in the paper. The novels have been translated into several languages, and both have been made into feature films – Tamara Drewe directed by Stephen Frears. She is also a writer and illustrator of children’s books, including Fred, which became an Oscar-nominated film. Cassandra Darke is her latest graphic novel.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken.

Please wear a face mask.

In Conversation with Alastair Laurence.

In a time of climate change, changes in the human diet and the end of the Common Agricultural Policy post-Brexit, what will happen to agriculture and the landscape around us? One answer to an escalating crisis in our countryside is “Rewilding”, a radical refiguring of what land is for, and for whom.

In 2020, farmer and vet Keith Powell, with author and broadcaster Rob Penn founded the charity “Stump Up for Trees”. Their first pilot project embraces ideas of Rewilding, through woodland creation. At Bryn Arw, just north of Abergavenny, on the eastern edge of the Black Mountains, they have planted 135,000 native broadleaf trees on common land.

With Keith and Rob, we will ask – what exactly is Rewilding? What are the advantages and disadvantages of Rewilding? What percentage of the ideal future landscape should be rewilded? What does this mean for farming, and rural culture as we know it?  Are there other viable alternatives?

For this unique and valuable Conversation at The Chapel, we invite all those who love the land to engage in this debate. Whether they be keen proponents of Rewilding, sceptics or die-hard opponents, we welcome them, along with those who are simply curious to understand what all the fuss is about and want to know more.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken to ensure safety.

RE-SCHEDULED DATE FOR MUSIC EVENT.

Following the success of the ‘Roll With the Punches’ band tour across the UK and Europe, Harley takes to the road for a run of intimate solo acoustic shows in 2020.

Through his road worn song writing style he explores hopes and fears for fast changing times. Slide guitar, as always is at the root of Martin’s sound, mirroring his whisky soaked northern breeze vocals. With fantastic reviews still coming in for the new album ‘Roll With the Punches’ things are looking good for the wandering bluesman.

If success can be measured by a growing global demand to attend Martin’s dynamic live performances, then perhaps his touring schedule is proof of that. He recently played to a full house at the Union Chapel in Islington and has appeared at Edmonton, Vancouver, Canmore and Calgary folk festivals in Canada; UK Festivals Glastonbury, Bestival, Beautiful days; numerous European and US tours and events including the AMAs, The Bluebird in Nashville and Tønder in Denmark. Total Guitar Magazine ranked him #16 in the World’s greatest acoustic guitarist poll and he was nominated as Instrumentalist of the Year at the Americana music awards 2019.

“Harley offers the listener a masterclass in taste, style and roots blues” – Guitarist Magazine

“Spellbinding” – The Guardian

“Quite simply a great live act” – Time Out London

We are hosting an evening with artwork by Dan Llywelyn Hall and readings by poets and writers taken from the new publication ‘Walking with Offa / Cerdded gydag Offa’ –

IFOR AP GLYN (POET LAUREATE OF WALES), OWEN SHEERS, ERIC NGALLE CHARLES, LAURA WAINWRIGHT AND CLARE E POTTER.

With music by harpist Prof David Watkins.

You may also wish to book a 3 course winter supper with aperitif from 8.30pm. Seating downstairs is very limited so booking is essential £45.

Offa’s dyke is an earthwork that follows the border between England and Wales. It is thought to have been started in around 785 AD and to have taken several years to build. For 50 years the Offa’s Dyke Association have championed the public’s understanding, enjoyment and access to this monument as well as its conservation. The Dyke can be walked right through the year, with most people walking between April and October.

Since 2020 Dan Llywelyn Hall has been working on a series of paintings and prints inspired by Offa’s Dyke. These works have been made largely ‘on location’ up and down the 1200 year old monument. These bold and weather-rich paintings explore the variety of landscape and the characters from past and present who have occupied this borderland. ‘Offa’s Dyke has always loomed large in my psyche. The frontier of a hinterland, past and present entwined. There is a rich border culture along the path that follows the dyke and a landscape with unrivalled variety. Walking its length is to take part in its story and sense how this ancient and modest mound will whisper on the wind’. Dan Llywelyn Hall

‘Walking with Offa / Cerdded gydag Offa’ by Ravenmade will be available to buy featuring 12 newly commissioned poems and Dan Llywelyn Hall’s collection of paintings.

David Hare is a playwright and filmmaker.

He has written over thirty stage plays which include Plenty, Pravda (with Howard Brenton), The  Racing Demon, Skylight, Amy’s View, The Blue Room, Via Dolorosa, Stuff Happens, South Downs, The Absence of War,The Judas Kiss and The Red Barn. for film and television, he has written nearly thirty screenplays which include Licking Hitler, Damage, The Hours, The Reader, Denial, The Worricker Trilogy: Page Eight, Turks & Caicos and Salting The Battlefield and most recently Collateral, Roadkill and the Rudolf Nureyev biopic The White Crow.

In a millennial poll of the greatest plays of the 20th century, five of the top 100 were his.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken to ensure safety.

Between 2002 and 2012 Dr Rowan Williams was Archbishop of Canterbury.

During this turbulent decade – and before and after – he has taken great strength and solace from a deep and fertile cultural hinterland.

Dr Williams is a theologian of international reputation whose many books reflect an extraordinary scholarship. He is a published poet whose collections have received critical acclaim and are much inspired by his Welsh heritage. And he has always been an impassioned and unflinching commentator on public affairs. Come and hear him answer questions about his vibrant artistic life away from the many trials and torments of church politics.

Alastair Laurence, who is curating this series, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken to ensure safety.

Another fantastic opportunity to meet and buy from the makers themselves, with some new names to watch out for. Beautifully hand-crafted ceramic ware by outstanding, well established ceramic artists. Something for everyone’s table.

The makers…  Justine Allison, Jennifer Hall, Chloe Charrington, Bert Jones, Nigel Lambert and Tim Lake.

All for sale. Free entry.

This event conforms with Welsh Government guidelines with a risk assessment completed and reasonable measures taken to ensure safety.

A Two-Day Embroidery and Print Workshop with Textile Artist, Ekta Kaul.
Suitable for absolute beginners as well as those with more experience

Gardens are meditative, restorative spaces alive with gentle fragrances, pleasing sounds and sights of nature. This two day course will focus on slowing down, taking the time to observe the foliage at the Chapel, learning to eco-print on fabric using plant materials and developing mindfulness through embroidery. Drawing inspiration from the Chapel garden designed and planted by Sarah Price (Chelsea Gold Medal Winner), you will evolve a vocabulary of hand embroidery stitches under Textile Artist Ekta Kaul’s gentle guidance. Explore creating pattern by eco-printing directly with foraged leaves and flowers and develop a personal response through mark making and creating stitched surfaces that evoke the spirit of the garden. Ekta will also share processes and techniques that she uses within her own work.

Ekta’s artistic practice is focused on creating narrative embroidered maps that explore places, histories and belonging through stitch. Her textiles are imbued with character, they speak of exceptional hand craftsmanship, careful attention to detail and a sensitive use of materials & colours.

Ekta is also a highly experienced educator and regularly undertakes public participatory projects working in collaboration with Museums and Heritage sector charities. Most recently she has run courses for the Crafts Council, Victoria & Albert Museum and later this year will be at Kettles Yard in Cambridge.

Ekta’s work is held in several private collections including a bespoke StoryMap commission for Liberty’s for their permanent collection. Her work can be seen select group of galleries in the UK and internationally including The New Craftsmen, Contemporary Applied Arts, Ruthin Craft Centre, Museum of Art and Design NYC, Conran Shop Tokyo among others. She is a finalist of the Jerwood Makers Open 2019 and was shortlisted for the Guildhall Artist Residency. Ekta works from her studio at Cockpit Arts in Bloomsbury, London.

A WELCOME RETURN TO THE CHAPEL FOR THE LOWEST PAIR – KENDLE WINTER and PALMER T LEE

Kendl comes from Arkansas, but she found her way to the Pacific Northwest after high school. The evergreens and damp air of Olympia, Washington, and the boundless music scene, had equal draw. She released three solo records on Olympia’s indie label, K Records, and performed in ramblin’ folk bands and anarchic punk bands before starting The Lowest Pair in 2013 with Palmer T. Lee.

Palmer built his first banjo when he was 19 from pieces he serendipitously inherited. Shortly after deciding songwriting would be the most effective and enjoyable medium for his musings, he began cutting his teeth fronting Minneapolis string bands and touring the Midwest festival circuit, which is where he and Kendl first met, on the banks of the Mississippi.

Over the next five years, they recorded and released four albums of original songs and one covers album, named I Reckon I’m Fixin’ On Kickin’ Round To Pick A Little, Vol. 1. They toured the U.S., or rather, they tour the U.S., in their own version of The Never Ending Tour, racking up over 500 shows, from Bellingham, Washington to Bangor, Maine, from The Shetland Islands to The Bell Inn in Bath.   A new album from the duo is coming soon.

“If you listen to no other bands or musical outfits in the Americana genre this year, listen to The Lowest Pair. This duo isn’t interested in merely making music of a moment that’s soon forgotten – these are songs well-lived in that aspire to last long after their writers have shuffled away.” – No Depression

“…a welcome as a worn path through familiar woods nonetheless populated by mystery and myth, holding, perpetual promise for new discovery  …stunning records with really beautiful melodies and instrumentation.” – Popmatters

“This duo is, I dare my hand for stabbing in the fire, one of the leading ensembles of what became a new kind of American folk music will prove to be.” – Rootstime

“The Lowest Pair on their albums have provided a storm force breath of fresh air that has an almost overwhelming quality and originality with nothing done to bring them in line with any contemporaries, very few though they are.” – Americana Roots UK

“There’s a mysterious beauty permeating Winter’s vocal and strongly melodic banjo line achieves a hypnotic quality soon after the soon begins.” – Indie Artist Alliance

“Music for sunshine and mint juleps” – Folk radio UK

“World-class banjo riffs, timeless folk song influences, and haunting vocals.” – MPR/ The Current

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Baltimore’s Letitia VanSant first came to prominence in 2017 when she won the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Song-writing competition – an honour previously granted to many who went on to become big names, such as Lucinda Williams and Nanci Griffith.

Since releasing her debut album in Europe, the powerfully impressive singer-song-writer has won a legion of new fans…and many glowing reviews.

Writing at AmericanaUK, Paul Kerr said she was “wonderful – a great songwriter with a glorious voice,” and at Folk Radio UK, writer Mike Davies delivered more praise, calling her “terrific,” while respected music writer Marc Higgins described the album as “captivating,” and awarding it a top 5-star rating, added: “The song-writing is sparkling and she has a stop-the-traffic voice.”  BBC Radio Wales folk supremo, Frank Hennessy has declared himself a fan, telling listeners to his celtic Heartboat show: “She is “Very, very, very good – a fascinating new artist!”

Last time Letitia toured here with her band’s guitarist who also provides backing vocals – David McKindley-Ward – they made a big impact. It will be the same duo format again. A brand new album has just been released and elevated her to become “one to watch” in various US publications.

The highly-rated Paste magazine said: “Her gentle singsong may strike you as sweet, but listen closer, and you’ll realise she is spitting fire.”

Rachel Clarke’s eagerly awaited second book Dear Life has just been published to critical acclaim. It combines her experiences as a specialist in palliative medicine with the story of the death from cancer of her GP father. It has been called ‘a love letter, to a father, to a profession, to life itself.’

Her first book Your Life in My Hands has been similarly acclaimed as an unflinching but tender account of life as a doctor in the NHS. It was written when Rachel was deeply involved in the Junior Doctors dispute with the then Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Before going to medical school Dr Clarke was a television journalist and documentary maker.

Some recent reviews of Dear Life:

• ‘This is a wonderful book. Rachel takes the worst life can throw at us and shows us the beauty in it, and the very best of human nature’ – Adam Kay
• ‘A truly wonderful book. Read it’ – Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm
• ‘Moving, thought-provoking and so very important. I’m immeasurably grateful to have read it, and it will stay with me. In death, we learn about life’ – Nigella Lawson
• ‘What a remarkable book this is; tender, funny, brave, heartfelt, radiant with love and life. It brought me often to laughter and – several times – to tears. It sings with joy and kindness’ – Robert MacFarlane

 Signs of Spring – Festival of Awakening

“The green shoots of new growth in nature can indicate a renewal of our physical energy and vitality.”

 In a Gong Bath the rejuvenating sound waves still the mind, soothe the spirit and take us to the peaceful realms of our deepest self where healing and transformation occur and energy can be restored.

You will be asked to bring a mat, a blanket and comfortable clothing. As you relax into the space, sound frequencies are used to help you go into a state of meditation and soothe you on a cellular level. Gongs are powerful instruments of change that resonate through your body like a massage. Soothing and detoxifying the effects should last for several days after the session.

Chrys Blanchard has lead workshops, composed music and lead choirs for 42 years. She creates and directs a number of projects for education, theatre and community as well as running a sound-healing workshop in Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital for the last 7 years.

Two sessions to choose from 4-5.30pm / 7.30-9pm

For our first “Conversation” of the year we welcome author and historian Colin Grant.  His important book Home Coming – Voices of the Windrush Generation was recently published to great acclaim. Along with the vital journalism of the Guardian’s Amelia Gentleman, Colin’s latest work highlights the experiences of all of those caught up in the recent Windrush scandal.

His other books include: Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey; and a group biography of the Wailers, I&I, The Natural Mystics. His memoir of growing up in a Caribbean family in 1970s Luton, Bageye at the Wheel, was shortlisted for the Pen/Ackerley Prize, 2013. His history of epilepsy, A Smell of Burning, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year 2016.

As a producer for the BBC, Colin wrote and directed several radio drama documentaries including African Man of Letters: The Life of Ignatius Sancho; and A Fountain of Tears: The Murder of Federico Garcia Lorca

He also writes for a number of newspapers and journals including the Guardian, TLS and New York Review of Books.

Join us to celebrate with friends and family as for one evening only we invite you to our ‘Festive Christmas Supper’.

With our menu giving a gentle nod to Yuletide classics and a bountiful selection of drinks to tempt we hope to offer a night of generous festivity!

All dietary requirements met, simply mention to a member of the team when booking.

The team look forward to welcoming you!

A Christmas feast of music with the Kamuzinda Players including the Bach Double Violin Concerto, Corelli’s Christmas Concerto and smaller works by Purcell, Mozart and Schumann. There will also be pieces by Rameau, Boismortier and Piazolla. Top flight musicians, Jacqueline Shave, violinist, and six friends who have played in leading orchestras and chamber ensembles worldwide are giving their time to raise money for the Pearl of Africa Charity (pearlofafrica.org.uk), which helps fund a school for deprived children in Kamuzinda, Uganda.

Jackie and her cellist friend Rachael Maguire recently stayed in the school, where they helped and taught music to the children. They know how even a small donation can make a real difference to the children’s lives. Their moving experiences left them wanting to help more.

Richard Eyre is one of our leading theatre, opera, television and film directors.  

For a decade he was Director of the National Theatre. There he directed numerous productions including Hamlet, Richard III, King Lear and Guys and Dolls, and new plays by amongst others David Hare and Tom Stoppard. Subsequently his productions in the West End and on Broadway have been many and varied – from Hedda Gabler to Mary Poppins, The Crucible to Long Day’s Journey into Night.

His TV credits include the controversial Tumbledown, The Insurance Man, The Dresser and recently King Lear with Anthony Hopkins. His films include Iris, Notes on a Scandal and The Children Act.  He has directed La Traviata at the Royal Opera House, Carmen and The Magic Flute at The Met in New York.

In his long and distinguished career Richard has been given many awards, knighted and made a Companion of Honour. We welcome such a dedicated and illustrious presence in our cultural life to Abergavenny.

Film maker, Alastair Laurence,  curates these series of talks.  In recent years he has made films on John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

Multi-talented and creatively exuberant Mikey Kenney is well established as an artist who creates joy and cause for celebration wherever he turns up to perform (invariably with a host of other musical kindred spirits keen to tap into the whole experience). Here, with his band, audiences who are newcomers to his music will find out why everyone has been raving about him. Internationally recognised as a premier league folk fiddler, the latest album, Reverie Road, has been winning glowing reviews.

Awarding it a top 5-star rating fRoots magazine said:“Mikey Kenney is an artist for whom music is a calling, not a career choice, and this CD represents the work of a singular and inspiring talent…unfettered by expectations of geography or genre, and a wanderer of worlds both seen and invisible, Kenny is an authentic free spirit.”

Oli Wilson-Dickson – fiddle/vocal . Dylan Fowler – guitar/vocal . Jamie Smith – accordion/vocal

“Welsh musicians don’t come more sensitive, accomplished and exploratory than this crew” fROOTS

Described by Songlines magazine as a “Welsh supergroup”, ALAW is three leading musicians who bring a wealth of experience to a shared passion – the traditional music of Wales. Whether unearthing rare gems or re-imagining a well loved melody, they treat their music with a deftness and sensitivity that is thoroughly absorbing. Combined with powerful song writing and original tunes, this makes for a musical experience that will stay with the listener long after the performance ends.

In August 2018 they collaborated with the BBC Concert Orchestra for a televised Prom at The Royal Albert Hall, alongside Julie Fowlis, Jarlath Henderson, Sam Lee and The Unthanks. ALAW’s performance was described on BBC Radio 2 as “Show-Stopping” and in the Times as “a sparkling collision of Celtic traditions”. In 2019 they won a Wales Folk Award after being  nominated in 3 categories.

Oli and Dylan have a long history of working together, sharing projects such as The Devil’s Violin, Szapora and The Ian McMillan Orchestra. Oli and Jamie are well known as the frontline of the multi award winning Jamie Smith’s MABON. Dylan’s other touring credits include Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson.

From stirring songs to driving jigs – they communicate their music with relaxed humour and a genuine affection that is truly infectious.

“Simply incredible… it really is outstanding” Frank Hennessy BBC Radio Wales

“they’ve surpassed the brilliance of Melody with an even more invigorating, wider-ranging exploration of Welsh poetic and musical traditions.” Folk Radio UK

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Eminent pianist and composer Dave Jones is running a jazz improvisation workshop upstairs at The Chapel. The last hour of this will be a jam session.

To all music lovers and the curious you are very welcome to come along and listen – for free – as the music emerges and the joint swings!

 Load up on afternoon drinks and food, and get down and dig it!!

Chapel Kitchen open downstairs all day 10am-5pm.

Intimate and courageous new solo show from twice BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner, Rowan Rheingans.

Rowan Rheingans is a fiddle player, banjoist and songwriter widely regarded as one of the foremost composers and innovators in folk music today. Best known for her work with acclaimed bands Lady Maisery, The Rheingans Sisters and Songs of Separation, Rowan has won two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (‘Best Original Track’ & ‘Best Album’) and is a five-times nominee.

Rowan’s debut solo show, Dispatches on the Red Dress is a heartfelt yet unflinching musical essay on memory, history, fascism, waltzes, folk-song, bird-song, trauma, family and war… Weaving storytelling and song with fiddles, banjo and guitar, live looping and subtle use of pre-recorded sounds, Rowan unravels the urgent message hidden in the folds of a story from her own grandmother’s youth in 1940’s Germany.

The result is a multi-layered meditation on ancestry and an unnerving elegy on the modern human condition, bringing the intimacy of a folk gig to the imaginative possibilities of theatre. Rowan explores how hope for the future might be found in the very darkest pockets of history in this poignant reflection and subtle celebration of human empathy and resilience.

“Utterly spellbinding singing and narration… and as the red dress’s true origin unfolds, the revelation will leave you quietly breathless” – THE SCOTSMAN ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Sublime…a narrative stitched with the subtlety of an expert dressmaker… celebrates family, nature and the ties that bind and goes on to pack a fierce political punch.” – THE GUARDIAN⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Online tickets available here. Booking fee £1

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Imogen Cooper in conversation with Alastair Laurence.

Imogen Cooper is an internationally renowned interpreter of the classical and romantic repertoire. Her lyricism and virtuosity shine through both her live performances and recordings.

Imogen has performed with all the great orchestras of the world and their conductors. Her solo recitals this season include London, Istanbul, Madrid and Washington DC.  She is also a committed chamber musician and Lieder recitalist.  Her recent recordings for Chandos Records feature music by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner and Robert and Clara Schumann.

We are delighted to have Imogen as our guest when she will talk about her life and work as one of our best loved pianists.

Film maker, Alastair Laurence,  curates these series of talks.  In recent years he has made films on John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

Dustbowl Revival is an Americana Soul band with eight full-time members who mash the sounds of New Orleans funk, bluegrass, soul, pre-war blues, and roots music, into a genre-hopping, time-bending dance party that coaxes new fire out of familiar coal.

Dustbowl is touring behind their self-titled, fourth studio album which spent three weeks on Billboard charts, hit #1 on Amazon Americana-Alt-Country, #2 on Amazon Folk, and has spent 13 weeks on the Americana radio chart peaking in the Top 20.

The band was founded in 2008 in the bohemian enclave of Venice Beach, California. Over the last five years Dustbowl has become known for their free-flowing and joyous live shows, combining their funk rhythm and brass section with a fast-picking string band section – opening for bands as diverse as Lake Street Dive, Trombone Shorty and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, touring China as a guest of the state department and headlining festivals like Delfest, Floydfest, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and recently Bergenfest (Norway) and Tonder Festival (Denmark). The band received a big wave of attention with their music video that featured famous actor Dick Van Dyke for “Never Had to Go”, which garnered over 10 million cumulative views. That video is now airing in an HBO Doc titled “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast” starring Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Brooks, and Dick Van Dyke. 

  While the band has been known for their old-time and bluegrass roots, they have departed from those styles and evolved more into modern soul music. Now, with Producer Grammy Award-winning Ted Hutt (Old Crow Medicine Show, Gaslight Anthem, Dropkick Murphys) who collaborated on the recent album, Dustbowl Revival brings it on, in the good company of neo-Soul contemporaries such as Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and St. Paul & The Broken Bones. The album delivers eleven hot tracks, dominated by love-triangle funk & soul, tenderized with a nod to the unlikely possibility of true love – i.e. “Honey I Love You”, with Grammy Award-winning blues artist Keb’ Mo’ sitting in. 

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

William Feaver in conversation with Alastair Laurence.

With the publication of the first in his two part biography of the artist Lucian Freud we welcome as our guest William Feaver.

William was a frequent collaborator and confidante of Freud and has based his life on the many conversations he had with the great painter. This first volume takes Freud’s life from childhood to early adulthood and includes letters and drawings along with other interviews with family and friends including Francis Bacon and Leigh Bowery.  William Feaver is a painter too, a curator, author of other acclaimed books, and was art critic for The Observer for 23 Years.

Film maker, Alastair Laurence,  curates these series of talks.  In recent years he has made films on John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

Suitable for absolute beginners as well as those who are more experienced.

Drawing inspiration from the Chapel garden designed and planted by Sarah Price, you will evolve a vocabulary of hand embroidery stitches under the guidance of Crafts & Arts Council award winning textile artist EKTA KAUL. The class will be about slowing down and taking time to observe. A Wabi-Sabi approach will be explored, ensuring a focus on creativity rather than achieving perfection.

The small group size means you will get lots of one-on-one help and Ekta will also share processes and techniques that she uses within her own work. Some fabrics and threads will be included and use of embroidery tools. Please bring your own threads, special fabrics to add a personal touch.

Ekta’s own artistic practice is focused on creating narrative embroidered maps that explore places, histories and belonging through stitch. Her textiles are imbued with character, they speak of exceptional hand craftsmanship, careful attention to detail and a sensitive use of materials & colours.

Ekta is also a highly experienced educator and regularly undertakes public participatory projects working in collaboration with Museums and Heritage sector charities. Her work is held in several private collections including a bespoke StoryMap commission for Liberty’s for their permanent collection. Her work can be seen select group of galleries in the UK and internationally including The New Craftsmen, Contemporary Applied Arts, Ruthin Craft Centre, Museum of Art and Design NYC, Conran Shop Tokyo among others. She is a finalist of the Jerwood Makers Open 2019 and was shortlisted for the Guildhall Artist Residency. Ekta works from her studio at Cockpit Arts in Bloomsbury, London.

OPEN ALL FESTIVAL WEEKEND

In celebration of the Abergavenny Food Festival and now in its third year, the Ceramic Makers’ Market at the Chapel will be another fantastic opportunity to meet and buy from the makers themselves, with some new names to watch out for. Beautifully hand-crafted tableware by outstanding, well established ceramic artists. Something for everyone’s table.

The makers… Justine Allison, Helen Beard, Louise Brosnan, Chloe Charrington, Jennifer Hall, Tim Lake and Micki Schloessingk.

All day food served downstairs at the Chapel Café and Garden.

The Man Who Put Abergavenny on the Food Map: Franco Taruschio, the Walnut Tree and the story of Italians in Wales 

Join us for a unique opportunity to hear from the person who put Abergavenny on the food map, to find out about Italian migration to Wales and to eat some wonderful food. History Cooked is a food history, dining club run by chef and food writer Rosie Sykes and food historian Polly Russell. Working in collaboration with chefs and restaurateurs.

History Cooked brings history alive through recreating and re-imagining the recipes from the past and telling the stories associated with them. For the 2019 Abergavenny Food Festival we are delighted to be collaborating with Franco Taruschio, the former-owner chef of the Walnut Tree and the man who put this Welsh town on the food map.

Working with Abergavenny’s own chef Kevin Mcfadden, we will recreate dishes from the original 1960s Walnut Tree menus, explore the history of Italian migration to Wales and hear first-hand from Franco about setting up an Italian restaurant in the 1960s and how the food scene in Abergavenny, Wales and the UK transformed in the second half of the twentieth century.

THE LONESOME ACE RETURN THIS AUTUMN!

Another opportunity to catch this hugely talented band from Canada, who played earlier this year at the Chapel.

Arguably the most powerful of bands which feature the old-time Appalachian style, these masters of their trade have been described as three of the most accomplished musicians playing on this planet, and that is not overstating the case. John Showman might be recognised by most Americana fans as the main vocalist with super-talented alt-country band, New Country Rehab, Chris Coole is a well-established singer-songwriter with a considerable pedigree and bassman Max Heineman has earned himself the kind of plaudits normally reserved for those who are much longer in the tooth.

In their native Canada, they are recognised as the best, and the band triumphed at 2018’s MerleFest where the discerning audience knows ‘stand-out’ from more-of-the-same.

“A rip roaring hoedown and a rawness fans love” – Maverick Magazine

“Old-Time roots music played with intensity and passion” – Songlines Magazine

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

With all the excitement of the recent World Cup, and the drama of the Ashes series upon us, our next Conversation is a very special cricket evening. Our guests are the former editor of Wisden and Guardian cricket correspondent Matthew Engel and historian David Kynaston – recent co-author of Arlott, Swanton and the Soul of English Cricket.

We will be talking about cricket past, present and future.  There will be readings from great cricket literature, discussion of its greatest players and what is sure to be a lively debate about the future of the game.

Online tickets available here. Booking fee £1

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

Just announced Charlie Parr and JD Wilkes on tour here in Britain, coming to perform at the Chapel. Book your tickets now for two separate performances in one evening.

Charlie Parr is an American country blues musician, born in Austin, Minnesota. An easily confused and very shy individual, Parr has been travelling around singing his songs ever since leaving Austin Minnesota in the 1980’s in search of Spider John Koerner, whom he found about 100 miles north at the Viking Bar one Sunday night. The experience changed his life. Spider John Koerner (born 1938 in New York) was an American guitarist, musical genius, singer and songwriter who inspired a  generation of musicians including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Ray Davies, Bonny Raitt and the Doors.

Parr plays a Mule resonator, National resonator guitar, a fretless open-back banjo, and a twelve-string guitar, often in the Piedmont blues style. 

JD Wilkes is an American musician, visual artist, author, filmmaker and self-proclaimed “southern surrealist”.  He is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist (notably on harmonica and banjo), having recorded with such artists as Merle Haggard, John Carter Cash, Mike Patton, and Hank Williams III. Wilkes’ latest solo album Cattle in the Cane includes his own renditions of traditional tunes (mostly old-time mountain music). In the last two years, Wilkes has continued to develop his solo project, having toured with Charlie Parr and The Tillers, as well as performing at the 2015 Winnipeg Folk Festival.

Wilkes is perhaps best known as the founder of the Legendary Shack Shakers, a Southern Gothic rock and blues band formed in the mid 90’s. He has been compared to iconoclasts like David Byrne, Iggy Pop, or Jerry Lee Lewis, and with his small, wiry frame and intense, incandescent performances, it’s not hard to see why. But while he plays the carnival barker onstage, he’s a dedicated lifelong student of true Southern culture. Master banjo player Dom Flemons said, “JD is a real old-Kentucky banjo player and he can take that to the bank!”

PRE-EVENT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Diarmaid MacCulloch is Professor of the History of the Church, Oxford University.  His History of Christianity: the first three thousand years won the 2010 Cundill Prize; his next book is Sex and the Church, of which his TV series of 2015 was a foretaste.  He was knighted in 2012.  His biography of Thomas Cromwell appeared in 2018 and is now out in paperback.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

During a career spanning more than 45 years Jill has photographed some of the biggest names in rock music: Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and Oasis are just a few. She has also directed videos for Oasis and The Pretenders.

She is a multi-award winner including The Jane Bown Observer Portrait Award, a Nikon Award and an Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award.

Born in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) Jill came to London with her family at the age of 11 in 1965. She became a member of the Beatles fan club and joined the ‘Apple Scruffs’ outside Abbey Road Studios.

Her first music picture was taken on a Kodak Instamatic of Paul McCartney with two of her school friends

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

Part of Abergavenny Arts Festival weekend.

A tour of the exhibition ‘Rounds’ with artist Nik Ramage. Lots of information and inspiration.

Nik makes sculptural machines that have drifted away from utility and objects that have forgotten their purpose. Some move and others teeter on the edge of movement. They are assembled from found objects, scrap and steel. Each work might embrace paradox or absurdity but is comfortable with it’s own quirks and runs to it’s own logic.

 In 2016 he had a solo show at Paul Smith, Mayfair and the following year installed forty mechanical sculptures at Haddon Hall in Derbyshire. Last year, he had work in Grayson Perry’s ‘Room of Fun’ at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and this year, he was elected to be an academician at The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol. He has work in collections in America, Europe and the Middle East.

Café and Garden open all day.

Part of Abergavenny Arts Festival weekend.

Join Alli Neal at the Chapel to draw the garden (or through the window if it is raining). We provide the materials.  Stay as long as you wish.

Until recently Alli was course leader for the BA in Fine Art at Hereford College of Arts. She left teaching to complete a PhD on drawing and now works full time on her own practice. Alli uses a range of materials and mediums including print, paint and collage. Her work has the open ended, exploratory quality more usually associated with drawing.

Café and Garden open all day.

Judith Weir is one of our most eminent composers whose work ranges very widely, from folk music to opera. She is currently Master of The Queen’s Music – the “poet laureate” of her profession.  Writing for national occasions she recently wrote a piece to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the 1918 Armistice.

Hear Judith talk about the art and craft of her music. This is a wonderful opportunity to understand the creative process that goes into composition, not only the world’s major musicians, but also school choirs and amateur orchestras.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

(Image courtesy of Benjamin Ealovega)

Canadian musicians and celebrated instrument makers Pharis & Jason Romero sing vibrant duets, write deadly songs, play handmade banjos and love old acoustic guitars!

Pharis & Jason have a classic story. When some scratchy old records and a custom banjo led to their meeting in 2007, they quickly knew they were in for the long haul. They’ve since released six records and toured across North America and the UK. They’ve won a Juno award, been featured on NPR Music, CBC, BBC, and Folk Alley, and have performed on A Prairie Home Companion and CBC’s The Vinyl Cafe. They are passionate teachers and believers in many things folk, and their heartbreakingly harmonic live show is an ever-evolving and never-ending quest for good songs and beautiful sounds.

Sweet Old Religion is the newest release from the duo. All originals, with light, love and time leading the themes, it’s a record that sounds like over a decade of playing and listening together. Part duets and part featuring guests, it’s Pharis & Jason at their very finest, their most open. Produced by Marc Jenkins, engineered by John Raham, with musical guests and a choir of family & friends, Sweet Old Religion carries a wide spread of influences, spanning from early 1920s jazz, blues, and country to 1960s songwriters like Levon Helm and The Band. The album also features songs inspired by their deep love of old music and rural life, with archaic banjo tunings where Jason moves between several of his own handmade instruments to bring out unique tones for each song.

“There’s something ancient and aching about the Romeros, a sound that feels like a reverberation from the past, even as the songs are a perfect antidote to this sped-up, modern world. Sweet Old Religion is particularly good medicine”.– NO DEPRESSION

“Their collaboration is fuelled by an intangible magic, the rare quality that makes a critic want to leave it at. Just turn this album on; you’ll love it.”– FOLK ALLEY

”all the swing and sway, soaring harmony lines and musical subtlety they’re known for. It’s beautiful.” – EXCLAIM!

“…beautifully crafted musicianship and singing”– FOLK RADIO UK

PRE-EVENT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

On the publication of her important new book about Dementia we are pleased to welcome Nicci Gerrard to a Conversation at the Chapel. Given the importance of the subject matter, and the wide range of those involved in care we are also inviting, we ask all those buying tickets to give what they feel is appropriate.

So this is a charity event.

Nicci Gerrard is a writer and campaigner, a novelist (under her own name and also as one half of the best-selling psychological thriller writer Nicci French) and recipient of the 2016 Orwell Prize for Journalism ‘Exposing Britain’s Social Evils’. What Dementia Teaches Us About Love grew out of her father’s death from dementia in 2014 and her belief that the disease, its impact on individuals, families and wider society, needed light thrown upon it in order to improve the experience and support of those affected.

Nicci Gerrard is also co-founder of John’s Campaign, named after her father, which has campaigned to give carers of those with dementia the same rights as parents of children to accompany them in hospital. Recognised by NHS policy makers, by charities, by nurses and doctors and carers, almost every hospital has now signed up.

Booking essential as space is limited. You can reserve a place either by email – events @artshopandchapel.co.uk, phone 01873 736430 / 852690 or in person at the Chapel or at The Art Shop. Donations can be made when booking or on the night either by cash or card. We hope you can support this important event.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

There is something about the music produced by Rosie Newton and Richie Stearns that tells you without question that this is one of those meant-to-be matches.

The pair enjoyed coming together to make music so much that they had spent many happy hours experimenting with both traditional and original songs before ever considering performing for anything other than their own entertainment.

Sounding now as if they might have formed two decades ago, such is the natural feel they possess, each has won the admiration of a wide circle of contemporaries around the World.

Rosie is a talented fiddler and singer who was raised in a musical family and had previously toured with The Duhks.

Stearns earned himself well-deserved “legendary” status following stints as banjo player and singer leading bands such as The Horse Flies and Donna the Buffalo. He has also played with countless others, and tours whenever she goes out on the road, with Natalie Merchant.

A highly-regarded sideman, he has performed internationally with the likes of Bela Fleck, Pete Seeger, David Byrne, Billy Bragg, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Joan Baez.

In 2013 the duo released their first album, Tractor Beam, a 12-track mix of originals and classics, designed to mirror the experience of a live performance. A follow-up was well received last year.

In combining their musical passion, Richie and Rosie draw from American old-time, Appalachian folk, Blues, African, Rock, Cajun, and Country music, taking the fiddle/banjo combination to a well-settled place as they continue to expand the boundaries of this tradition.

Renowned for their incredibly refined skills, diverse musical influence and honest storytelling, the pair exemplify the power and magic of two people doing what comes naturally to them, making music together.

PRE-EVENT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Celebrating the arrival of spring in the company of gardening writer, Anna Pavord.

Anna’s books include her bestseller, The Tulip, The Naming of Names and her most recent work, Landskipping. Her column in the Independent newspaper ran from the paper’s launch in 1986 and for many years she was an Associate Editor of the magazine Gardens Illustrated. She served for ten years on the Gardens Panel of the National Trust, the last five as chairman. She also served three 3-year terms on English Heritage’s Parks and Gardens Panel.

In 2001 she was awarded the Gold Veitch medal from the Royal Horticultural Society. For more than 40 years she has lived in Dorset where she gardens on a steep sunny slope among arisaemas and magnolias.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

Join children’s writer Sarah KilBride for a fun and energetic creative workshop exploring themes, from Doggy Antics to A Whole Lot of Hair. The session will start with a story and then explode into the story’s world with games, imaginative play, music, movement and art. We all cool down at the end of the session, cwtched up with picture books that follow the theme.

Originally from the Black Mountains, Sarah KilBride is the author of Being a Princess is Very Hard Work, illustrated by Ada Grey (illustrator of the bestselling Royal Baby series). Sarah created the bestselling Princess Evie’s Ponies series, that has sold worldwide and next year sees the publication of A Cuddle and a Cwtch. Sarah works as the Baby Bookworm coordinator for the Stephens and George charitable Trust, promoting literacy and nurturing a love of books in schools and with babies and their families.

Recommended age range up to 7 years. Please note all children must be accompanied by an adult.

Online tickets available here.

If you love drama and poetry, then the Aber Writing Fest Youth Poetry Slam workshop is a must. Just come along and be prepared to write a poem, rehearse it and then slam in front of an appreciative audience. The winner will receive a special certificate and a prize.

Glenn Carmichael and Claire Williamson have been running poetry slam workshops and hosting slams since 1994. They will teach you everything you need to know to write a brilliant poem and coach you so you’re ready to perform in the poetry slam which will take place at the end of the workshop.

Glenn recently toured with SW Collective: ‘Flash’ a spoken word show about moments, and ‘Count Me In’ a promenade spoken word and visual show based in a bingo hall. Claire is author of Visiting the Minotaur (Seren, 2018) and three other poetry collections. Claire’s poetry has been highly commended and she is adoctoral candidate at Cardiff University.

Recommended for ages 7 plus. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Online tickets available here.

Join creative writing tutor Sharon Brace for this practical workshop at the Chapel.

Personal writing is believed to be good for you and is often considered a practice in self-care as it is a way of checking in with yourself, a way to relieve stress and create personal meaning. It is also a way to let go of things which are no longer beneficial and aids in gaining insight into our own motivations and actions by giving voice to our own stories. All of which promote wellbeing by releasing the negativities of the past and aiding in identifying and embracing future goals. It can quiet anxiety, encourage calm and bolster intention or just provide a way to tell your story. Whichever is most applicable, come along and have a scribble!

Sharon Brace gained an M.A. in Creative Writing from Cardiff University, having harboured the instinct and desire to write since childhood. She now works as a Creative Writing tutor in several settings and is employed by Monmouthshire County Council. She is also engaged in running Creative Writing for wellbeing workshops for the charities Women’s Aid and Mind,and is writing on her own novel.

Online tickets available here.

A unique evening of powerful words will begin with readings from exciting Welsh poets Mari Ellis Dunning and Jonathan Edwards.  Mari will be reading from her debut poetry collection ‘Salacia’ and Jonathan (author of the Costa and Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award ‘My Family and Other Superheroes’) from his new collection ‘Gen’.

There will be dazzling bi-lingual poetry and music from literary activist, lyricist, rapper, singer songwriter and performance art poet Rufus Mufasa. And a unique set from Mr Woodnote and Afro Cluster’s frontman Tumi Williams. Mr Woodnote who freestyles beats and bass lines with the use of his loop-station, saxophones and beatboxing will be busting out live beats and bass with Afro Cluster’s frontman. They will be fusing their respective funkiness for the Aber Writing Fest.

And an extra performance from the winner of Christie Residential local talent search (to be announced soon) . . .

Online tickets available here.

Chapel bar will be open all evening.

A mesmerizing fusion of Celtic and Indian music, featuring lyrical Indian singer, Rajesh David, the hauntingly virtuosic guitar playing of Dylan Fowler and Pete Stacey’s sublime soprano saxophone and alto flute.

Dylan Fowler is well known to audiences in Abergavenny for his fine musicianship and innovative collaborations with musicians from around the world. Flautist and saxophonist. Pete Stacey has worked with leading Indian classical musicians, creating concertos for leading Indian classical musicians, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Nishat Khan, which have been performed in St David’s Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.

In this evening’s concert they are joined by Indian Classical singer, Rajesh David a wonderfully inventive and versatile singer. Rajesh, who hails from Mumbai where he was a featured artist for All India Radio and Television, currently lives and works in Wales. In Tŷhai he bridges the music and cultures of the Celtic world and India, singing in Hindi, Sanskrit and Welsh.

Tŷhai’s repertoire includes the ragas and rhythms of Indian music, verses from Sufi poetry and ancient Sanskrit texts as well as Welsh traditional music and song.  This evening’s performance is part of a series of concerts to mark the launch of their long- awaited inaugural CD.

PRE-EVENT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Adam and David Moss are identical twins carrying on the folk tradition for a new generation. The siblings draw on the energy and creativity of Brooklyn, New York for their full-length debut album Some People I Know.  Their stunning songcraft blends masterfully gentle guitar, cello and five-string fiddle with the sublime sort of two-part harmonies only brothers can carry. Their palpably fraternal stage presence and wonderfully familiar heart have earned repute among a modern folk scene

The album’s title, Some People I Know, refers to the personal nature of these songs. As David explains, “I think every song on the album is about a person or a character, and in a way, it’s a reflection of ourselves.” For example, Mary Ann, written by David, is an encouraging ode to a friend with depression. Banjo Song, written by Adam, conveys a conversation with someone who gives up playing an instrument after a hurtful breakup. Though he’s usually on fiddle, Adam plays banjo on the track; throughout the album, David plays guitar and cello.

Although young men, The Brother Brothers have boasted this sterling folk sound for decades. Growing up in Peoria, Illinois, they sang along as children to their father’s record collection of the Kingston Trio, the Everly Brothers, the Beatles and the Beach Boys. “That’s where we learned to sing harmony and then one thing leads to another,” says Adam ”all of a sudden we could harmonise to anything we wanted to. It was a very natural progression”. 

“Gentle in pace and performance, the Mosses have ample space to glide through beautiful, harmonic melodies, as they do. All-in-all it does what they do best, presenting the musical power in weaving their stories and songs with subtlety.” – Popmatters

“The power of minimalist storytelling sweeps us off our feet… That chorus is so barebones, but hits me like a train. They’re clearly masters at their craft.” – Indie Shuffle

SOLD OUT

PRE-EVENT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Gillian Clarke, National Poet of Wales 2008-2016, President of Tŷ Newydd, the Welsh Writers Centre. Awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry 2010, the Wilfred Owen Poetry Award 2012, Hay Festival Poetry Medal 2016. Picador published Selected Poems in 2016. Her latest collection is Zoology, 2017, published by Carcanet.

One reviewer of her poems commented that Gillian “has the metaphoric and metamorphic power to astonish us into viewing life differently….from the most intensely sensuous of writers.’

Another wrote, “how hard it is to write such poems, how easy to enjoy them.”

She has a daughter and two sons, and now lives with her architect husband on a smallholding in Ceredigion.

ALASTAIR LAURENCE, who is curating this series of talks at the Chapel, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

THIS ONE DAY WORKSHOP WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHILDREN TO EXPLORE DIFFERENT QUALITIES OF MOVEMENT AND STILLNESS WITH THE BODY AND LATER WITH DRAWING / PAINTING MATERIALS. THE DAY WILL BE INSPIRED BY WELSH LANDSCAPE AND STORY.

DENNI DENNIS – CHOREOGRAPHER AND PERFORMER

Denni was born in Denmark and is now based in Wales. Denni graduated from The Commedia School, Copenhagen and then trained in ballet and mime in St. Petersburg. He has extensive training in the Jacques Lecoq style, Russian character clown and the Pochinko method (Native American spiritual clown). His work has been featured in theatre, circus, dance performance and art installations.

CLARE PARRY-JONES – ARTIST AND PERFORMER

Clare is a local artist and theatre practitioner, performing and teaching internationally. She studied at RADA, and recently toured her solo performance from Siberia to St Petersburg, teaching clown workshops throughout Russia. Her research into Japanese Washi (paper), with reference to costume, ritual and land art has led to ongoing collaborations with Japanese artists. Clare combines land art, performance, ritual and clown.

MERIEL GOLD – DRAWING

Meriel trained at the Slade and was taught by Oskar Kokoschka and Cecil Collins. Collins’s life drawing classes at the Central School of Art in the 70’s and 80’s were legendary, and Oskar Kokoschka’s School of Seeing set up by him in 1953 in Salzburg Academy of Fine Arts, taught students through the creative process …‘my school does not strive to-wards technical skills, nor towards photographic imitations of nature and not at all towards abstract art… I want to teach my students the art of vision…’

ALL AGES WELCOME

Following her week long residency at the Chapel from 19-23 February, Andrea will be giving an illustrated talk about her long involvement with the Jesse Tree and medieval maps.

TALK 12pm upstairs at the Chapel

PRIVATE VIEW 3-4.30pm  upstairs at The Art Shop

An exhibition of paintings, drawings, painted books & work made during her residency.

About the artist

Andrea trained in Fine Art at Falmouth School of Art, the Slade School of Art and the British School at Rome on a painting scholarship.

Her painting ‘A Contemporary Mappa Mundi’ can be seen on display at the British Library as part of their permanent collection.

Andrea is a featured artist in Tess Jaray’s collection of writings – ‘Painting: Mysteries and Confessions’.

A move to London (for the Slade) sparked an interest in William Blake’s poetry as a way of navigating and mapping the city.

She is also inspired by the writings, visionary works of Thomas Traherne, the 17th Century poet. In 2018 she was made honorary member of the Traherne Association.

Rachel Cusk is the author of the trilogy Outline, Transit, Kudos; the memoirs A Life’s Work, The Last Supper and Aftermath; and several other novels: Saving Agnes (winner of the Whitbread Award), The Temporary, The Country Life (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), The Lucky Ones, In the Fold, Arlington Park and The Bradshaw Variations. She was chosen as one of Granta’s 2003 Best Young British Novelists. She has been shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize three times, most recently for Kudos.

The Daily Telegraph has called her writing “Stunningly bold, original and humane.”

The reviewer of Kudos in the Irish Times wrote it is “rich and compelling. It confirms Rachel Cusk’s status as one of the most interesting contemporary writers – avant-garde, highly original, challenging but entirely accessible.”

ALASTAIR LAURENCE, who is curating this series of talks at the Chapel, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening.

Arguably the most powerful of bands which feature the old-time Appalachian style, these masters of their trade have been described as three of the most accomplished musicians playing on this planet, and that is not overstating the case.

John Showman might be recognised by most Americana fans as the main vocalist with super-talented alt-country band, New Country Rehab, Chris Coole is a well-established singer-songwriter with a considerable pedigree and bassman Max Heineman has earned himself the kind of plaudits normally reserved for those who are much longer in the tooth.

Making a rare visit to these shores as one of the main headline acts at Glasgow’s big Celtic Connections festival, you’ll feel the energy of three passionate musicians playing the bejesus out of those instruments and loving every minute. In their native Canada, they are recognised as the best, and the band triumphed at 2018’s MerleFest where the discerning audience knows ‘stand-out’ from more-of-the-same.

“A rip roaring hoedown and a rawness fans love” – Maverick magazine

“Three of the most accomplished old-time musicians on the planet” – WAMU, Washington DC

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 736430

Martin Rowson is a multi-award winning cartoonist, illustrator, writer and poet whose work over the past 35 years has appeared regularly in The Guardian, The Daily Mirror, The Times, The Spectator, The Morning Star, The New Statesman, The Scotsman, The Irish Times, The Erotic Review, The Racing Post, The New European and practically every other publication you can think of, apart from The Sun, who’ve never asked him.

Martin’s many books include comic book adaptations of The Waste Land, Tristram Shandy, Gulliver’s Travels and the Communist Manifesto and “Pastrami-Faced Racist”, his recently published slim volume of ranting verse!  In 2017 a Daily Mail editorial about one of his Guardian cartoons described him as “disgusting… deranged… sick… and offensive.”

In addition to being chair of the British Cartoonists’ Association, Rowson is also a trustee of the Cartoon Museum, a former trustee of the British Humanist Association and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and has served three terms as a vice-president of the Zoological Society of London.  He lives in south-east London with his wife. Their children, now grown up, drop by when they’re passing.

ALASTAIR LAURENCE, who is curating this series of talks at the Chapel, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening

with LADY MAISERY, JIMMY ALDRIDGE & SID GOLDSMITH

In an un-missable collaboration, five of the English folk scene’s most inventive artists bring you AWAKE ARISE – A CHRISTMAS SHOW FOR OUR TIMES; celebrating the riches of our varied winter traditions and reflecting upon the hope and resilience in music and song that can bring joy to us all in the darkest season.

Award winning trio Lady Maisery (Hannah James, Rowan Rheingans and Hazel Askew) have for nearly a decade produced “some of the most exquisite, thrilling vocal harmony work in the English folk scene” (The Guardian).

The beguiling musical partnership of Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith complete the powerful line-up, bringing the outstanding vocals, sensitive instrumentation and powerful social conscience that has won them widespread critical acclaim. “Rousing stuff” (The Observer).

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

CLAIRE HEANEY – FLUTE, SIMONE PIRRI – VIOLIN, RACHEL WILSON-DICKSON – VIOLIN, TIM CRONIN – VIOLA, CLAUDINE CASSIDY – CELLO, JOHN CHEER – HARPSICHORD

Early music ensemble Ystradivarius return to the Chapel to present their new programme with a hint of Christmas. including Bach’s spectacular and ever popular Fifth Brandeburg Concerto, the B minor Suite for flute and strings (including the famous Badinerie) and some fascinating and rarely performed music by Telemann.

Ystradivarius are a group of five professional young musicians who specialise in early music and perform on period instruments – Baroque flute, violin, viola, cello and organ continuo. They have studied at colleges such as Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Royal College of Music and Trinity College of Music and Drama.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

WILLIAM FOTHERINGHAM HAS BEEN WRITING ABOUT CYCLING SINCE HE LEFT UNIVERSITY IN 1988.  HE HAS REPORTED FOR CYCLING WEEKLY, CYCLE SPORT AND FOR THE GUARDIAN FOR WHICH HE IS NOW THEIR HIGHLY RESPECTED AND EAGERLY READ CYCLING CORRESPONDENT.

His first full-length book, Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson sold getting on for 100,000 copies.  It has been called as a “modern classic of cycling literature.”  William’s Half-Man, Half-Bike, a biography of Belgian Eddy Merckx, was No1 in the Sunday Times best-seller lists.  One reviewer called it “a fascinating, often bleak portrait of a remarkable athlete and an unnerving man.”  His latest is Sunday in Hell: Behind the Lens of the Greatest Cycling Film of All Time

‘I began writing about bike racing on leaving university in 1988 and was covering the Tour de France within two years, one of maybe half a dozen British journalists on the race. I spent much of the 1990s writing for Cycling Weekly and Cycle Sport, combining that with work for the Guardian, who talked me into covering the Tour for them in 1994. In 1999 Jeremy Whittle and I launched Procycling as a joint web and print venture; it’s been curiously satisfying to watch it go from strength to strength in the last few years. Next up came a spell working at the sports desk in the Guardian in which I began covering rugby as well as cycling, reporting on the World Cup in 2003′

OTHER REVIEWERS HAVE SAID…

“just as the film has stood the test of time, considered a true cinematic masterpiece and revealing new features on each subsequent viewing even after forty years, the book is likely to follow suit.” The WashingMachine Post blog on Sunday in Hell.

‘The quality of the testimony and the sources used by Fotheringham are of a remarkable breadth and depth. An excellent book.’  BBC Sport on Fallen Angel: the Passion of Fausto Coppi

‘Ingenious… you emerge from the book feeling rather proud of all these misfits and outsiders. Fotheringham’s fondness for them is infectious.’  The Telegraph on Roule Britannia: Great Britain and the Tour de France

ALASTAIR LAURENCE, who is curating this series of talks at the Chapel, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot. In November, a project about the friendship of Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams, is appearing on BBC 2.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening

HAND EMBROIDERY ONE-DAY COURSE

Embroider a custom map of a place that is special to you with award winning textile artist Ekta Kaul. Working with a map of your choice, you will learn to develop a drawing of the map, transfer your drawing on to fabric, use a variety of embroidery stitches & leave with a beautiful piece of art that you can frame. The small group size means you will get lots of one-on-one help and top tips. Some fabrics and threads will be included. Please bring your own threads, special fabrics to add a personal touch to your map.

Ekta creates bespoke Story Maps based on personal narratives and a small number of wearables. Her textiles are imbued with character, they speak of exceptional hand craftsmanship, careful attention to detail and a sensitive use of materials & colours.

Following her training in Fashion at India’s premier design school, the National Institute of Design (NID, Ahmedabad), Ekta won the Charles Wallace and British Council scholarships to pursue MA Textiles in the UK & developed a unique creative voice assimilating influences from both countries. Her work is stocked at select stores & galleries in the UK including Contemporary Applied Arts, Designers Guild, Ruthin Craft Centre among others. She has received awards from the Crafts Council and the Arts Council, England & was nominated for the Arts Foundation Fellowship in 2010.

TIM DEE ON NATURE WRITING AND HIS LATEST BOOK ‘LANDFILL’

Tim Dee is a writer and a radio producer.  He writes non-scientific books about birds and places, including a memoir about his birdwatching life, The Running Sky, a book about and called Four Fields, and Landfill, a study of men watching gulls on rubbish dumps and in other desolate spots.  He also edited Ground Work a collection on new writing on places, and co-edited (with Simon Armitage) the anthology, The Poetry of Birds.  His next book is about walking the spring north through Europe. He was a BBC radio producer for 28 years making arts documentaries, poetry programmes, history features and radio drama for Radio 3 and 4.

Of The Running Sky’ –  “Thrillingly original…..as unexpected as it is brilliant.”

Of Four Fields – he travelled from the Fens to Zambia, from Montana to Chernobyl – “A project as expansive and as mesmerising as a fenland sky.”

ALASTAIR LAURENCE, who is curating this series of talks at the Chapel, is a freelance documentary film maker who lives near Abergavenny. In recent years Alastair has made films about The Battle of the Somme, a history of British Photography and the poets John Betjeman, Philip Larkin and TS Eliot. In November, a project about the friendship of Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams, is appearing on BBC 2.

Chapel bookshop and bar will be open all evening

Two Workshops 4-5.30pm / 7.30-9pm

REST & RENEWAL

It’s the time of SAMHAIN – A Celtic Fire Festival. The End and The Beginning of the Celtic New Year

 Let go of that which doesn’t serve you, so that you can rest uncluttered. Enjoy the peace and the darkness as you dream new dreams and see new potential. Rebalance your energy and invest in your wellbeing.

These sound bath meditations, which are brimming with healing sound waves and resonance, can create powerful shifts that bring positive change.

Chrys Blanchard has lead workshops, composed music and lead choirs for 42 years. She creates and directs a number of projects for education, theatre and community as well as running a sound-healing workshop in Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital for the last 7 years.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat, blanket and water.

Radio Amore is a live mixtape of British and Italian music from baroque to the present day.

Inspired by late-night radio broadcasting, the music is a seamless musical journey performed by Italian oboist Michele Batani, alongside British musicians the Mavron String Quartet and bassist Ashley-John Long. Part of Sound Affairs’ 30th anniversary celebrations, featured composers include Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Purcell, Handel, Michael Nyman, Steve Martland and Charlie Barber.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

OPEN ALL FESTIVAL WEEKEND

After the success of last year’s event at the Chapel, we are hosting another Ceramic Makers’ Market in celebration of the Abergavenny Food Festival with a few more names added to the mix. A rare opportunity to meet the makers. Hand-crafted tableware by ceramic artists on sale, under an exhibition of outlandish hanging sculptures and silk banners from past Food Festivals, designed by Bettina Reeves.

The makers… Justine Allison, Dylan Bowen, Jane Bowen, James Burnett Stuart, Chloe Charrington, Jennifer Hall, James & Tilla Waters and Clementina van der Walt.

Music and food all day downstairs in the Chapel, kitchen and garden.

Eat Your Words is a celebration of eating together and the culture and history of classic cookbooks. Enjoy dishes brought to life by chefs from the very pages you are discussing, hosted by the Chapel as part of the Abergavenny Food Festival. Join Rosie Sykes and Kevin McFadden as they cook dishes from Alistair Little’s classic cookbook ‘Keep It Simple‘. Whilst you eat, Ishita Wilkins talks you through the inspiration and intricacies behind the food of the award-winning book.

Alistair Little is known as the Godfather of modern British cooking and his Soho restaurant became known for the vividness of his radically simple dishes.  An early advocate of ethical food, Little placed importance on the supply chain of ingredients and let the flavors do the talking.  Keep It Simple was published in 1994 and won a Glenfiddich Award the same year.

Arrive for apertifs at 7pm, discussion and supper begin at 7.30pm

The largest drawing project in Wales is taking place this summer and you can be a part of it. 

It doesn’t matter if you think you can’t draw or even if you’ve never drawn before. We want everyone in Wales to take part. Artists all over Wales are leading workshops and events to help you draw and Allie Neal, ex head of Fine Art at the Hereford College of Arts, will be offering a range of workshops and events in South East Wales to give you the confidence to make your mark.

This project is not about being an artist. It’s about seeing what’s in front of us and recording the moment. We want you to take time out of your routine to have a good look at what surrounds you and celebrate everyday life, the heart of the Welsh community, in a drawing. Draw what you see, whether it’s the beautiful Welsh landscape or the washing up. Your drawings will combine with everyone else’s in an exhibition at the National Museum in Cardiff in October to describe Wales today. They’ll also be online together with all the other drawings created over the whole of Wales.

One of the first workshops in South East Wales will take place downstairs at the Chapel, Abergavenny. Allie will be there all morning, with drawing books and pencils, encouraging you to draw what you see in front of you, whether it’s your cup of coffee or someone sitting across the room. It may even be warm enough to draw outside in the Chapel Garden.

Come along and make your mark.

If you’re a member of an organization or group and would like to take part in a workshop or drawing session then please get in touch with Allie Neal at a.neal23@icloud.com Even if you’re not sure which end of the pencil to use, she can help you to make your mark on Wales.

LEGENDARY AWARD WINNING FIVE PIECE STRING BAND – WHIZ-BANG ROOTS MUSIC FROM VIRGINIA

Firmly established as one of the most popular touring acts, this will be The Hot Seats tenth anniversary visit to the UK.

They have blown the crowds away at festivals such as Edinburgh Fringe where they won a coveted Herald Angel award – the highest accolade to be handed out – following a successful run at the famous Spiegletent. They wowed the crowds at Shetland and Orkney Folk Festivals and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections too. The band’s fiery brand of blistering Appalachian old-time mixed with left of centre bluegrass and a sprinkling of their own compositions – and a healthy dash of sharp wit – has won them fans around the world.

On previous visits, reviewers have showered them with praise.

“They’re brilliant,” said Maverick magazine, while The Herald (Scotland) described the show as “sensational,” and RnR magazine said simply: “Astounding!”

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Recognised as one of the hottest bands playing out of one of America’s steamiest States, the California Feetwarmers return to Europe for appearances at a string of summer festivals.

This follows a super-successful run at big outdoor events in 2017 when they wowed the crowds in Switzerland, Italy, Scotland and Ireland. Previously they raised the roof before an ecstatic crowd at the 1000-capacity Old Fruitmarket during Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival. Since then, the seven-piece has continued to impress on both sides of the Atlantic and gathered praise from some of the biggest names in the biz. When they headlined at Herb Alpert’s nightclub in Beverly Hills, where Hollywood’s A-list go to have themselves some fun, Sir Tom Jones enjoyed the show so much he declared himself a fan, told them to head for London and said: “Just tell them Tom Jones sent you!”

He wasn’t the first big name to fall under their spell…this is the band that Keb’ Mo’ sought out to provide an air of authenticity when he recorded his BluesAmericana album. The collaboration won them a Grammy-nomination. When Keb’ Mo’ grabbed them to provide the right feel for the track that won them so much attention, he did so as he wanted it to be “a joyous thing – a party,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

…Now couldn’t we all do with a bit of that in our lives right now!

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

TEYR and THE TWISTED TWENTY join forces for a spellbinding double bill full of tales, melodies and musical journeys. Multi-instrumental folk trio Teyr and baroque-folk ensemble The Twisted Twenty offer two radically different perspectives on British folk music, exploring new and old ley lines through traditional musics. Here the two acclaimed bands collaborate to bring you the Gales and Tall Tales Tour 2018.

A young and vibrant septet from all over the world, The Twisted Twenty play period baroque instruments in their own joyous twists on traditional British folk songs. Melodious and exuberant – we dare you not to dance!

‘At times almost semi-orchestral, at others as intimate and spontaneous as a folk session.’ Andy McMillan, Bright Young Folk Review
‘Enthusiastic and properly exhilarating’  David Kidman, The Living Tradition

Teyr are a folk trio whose charismatic tapestry of voice with fiddle, uilleann pipes, guitar, low whistle and accordion has been hailed as ‘high-energy brilliance’ and ‘one of the greatest bands that has come out of the English scene in recent times.’

‘A perfect blend of trad and modern jigs, reels and airs. The apparent boundless energy, imagination and instrumental expertise is all their own… Teyr are doing things their own way’ Neil McFadyen, Folk Radio UK 
‘Dominic Henderson, on pipes and whistles, has instantly become one of my favourite musicians, clearing the head quicker than a deep breath in a peppermint factory.’ Oz Hardwick, RnR magazine

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

ABERGAVENNY CHAMBER MUSIC & UNICORN SINGERS

In this creative collaboration borne from the Welsh borders, composer Stephen Marshall brings to life Jeff Rees’ epic poem ‘The Devil’s Pool’. International mezzo soprano Catherine King will be joined by the Unicorn singers. For the second half of the evening, soloist tenor Paul Badley sings Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin in a dramatic rendition of one of his best loved works.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

DRAWING WORKSHOP

A rare opportunity to stretch your experimental practice with Royal Academy Schools trained artist Kumar Saraff. A theatrical setup in the centre of the upstairs of the Chapel allows you to experiment with tone and light, through an ever-changing composition. One not to be missed!
Kumar is known for his paintings exploring the transient moments of life.  Form often breaks down and pose questions to the viewer in his beautiful works. He had a solo exhibition at The Art Shop earlier this year.

Kumar Saraff studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, going onto study painting at the Royal Academy Schools. Here he won several awards and prizes, including the David Murray travel scholarship for landscape painting and a silver medal for excellence in painting. After graduation Kumar worked within the Art and Design department of a large west London further education college before relocating to Mid-Wales to paint full time in 2002.

International flute soloist Wissam Boustany is proud to accompany young violinist Lourdina Baboun and concert pianist Iyad Sughayer in a programme featuring an exciting combination of Classical Western and MiddleEastern Music.

Wissam Boustany, international flute soloist, is the Trustee of Palmusic and founder and conductor of Pro Youth Philharmonia. Lourdina Baboun, a violinist from Bethlehem is studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Iyad Sughayer, a young concert pianist, is the recipient of the Trinity Laban Gold Medal award 2018.

Programme includes pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin as well as Jordanian-Palestinian contemporary composer Tarek Younis.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPER AVAILABLE WITH PALESTINIAN INFLUENCED MENU. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01873 852690.

AN EXPLORATION INTO THE NATURE OF CREATIVITY 

3 DAY LIFE-DRAWING COURSE with MERIEL GOLD

Meriel Gold trained at the Slade and was taught by Oskar Kokoschka and Cecil Collins. Collins’s life drawing classes at the Central School of Art in the 70’s and 80’s were legendry, and Oskar Kokoschka’s School of Seeing set up by him in 1953 in Salzburg Academy of Fine Arts, taught students through the creative process …‘my school does not strive towards technical skills, nor towards photographic imitations of nature and not at all towards abstract art… I want to teach my students the art of vision…’

Meriel’s innate sense of both artists’ teachings is very evident. Seeing past what the mind thinks it knows based on learnt patterns of conditioning, including the desire for results and fear of not getting them, allows for a relaxation back into the creative and intuitive essence of our self, which is just plain being at home as oneself. Using hands, fingers and natural instruments like reeds, quills, brushes, charcoal, chalk, water, music and life models, we touch out on our paper that which touches us in the human form. In truth we touch ‘Being-ness’, which is our true nature.

Join us in celebration of three years of the Chapel with a fabulous anniversary supper put together by Rosie Sykes and our chefs. A three course menu will be topped off with fizz and a very special birthday cake. There is lots to celebrate! Thank you to each of you who join us in making the Chapel a special place.

Fiddle-singers and multi-instrumentalists, Rowan and Anna Rheingans launch their hotly anticipated third album Bright Field this spring. This is bold, playful, innovative folk music – wholly contemporary while drawing from the well of musical knowledge passed down through generations.

Growing up in the Peak District surrounded by traditional music, the sisters picked up music from an early age and have since become aficionados in folk and fiddle music from both northern and southern European traditions. Winners of the Radio 2 Folk Award for ‘Best Original Track’ in 2016 and ‘Horizon’ Award Nominees, they have released two albums, both to great critical acclaim. The Independent called their second album, Already Home ‘superb’ whilst Folk Radio UK called it ‘not only a beautiful and exceptional record, but an important one.’ Some of you may remember Rowan playing last year at the Chapel as part of hugely popular BBC Folk Award nominated trio Lady Maisery.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN FROM 5.45PM. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Join London based designer, maker and shop-owner Jessie Chorley for one of two special spring workshops to explore Jessie’s unique hand-embroidery and appliqué style as she helps you to create your own stories with stitch. Jessie will show you how she uses her needle and threads as drawing tools to illustrate with and also to incorporate and secure found items of interest. Collecting items to incorporate in her work is a large part of both Jessie’s practice and her inspiration.

This workshop will start with Jessie showing and helping you to create a hand-stitched fabric book. You will then go on to use a mixture of fabric paints, hand-embroidery and appliqué to create scenes and your own story. You will be provided with a base fabric at the start of this workshop to create your books from, plus fabric scraps and threads to help you weave your own original story.

Jessie Chorley is an independent designer, maker, collector, tutor, author and shop-owner specializing in embroidery, collage and appliqué. At the heart of her work is hand-stitching and traditional embroidery techniques which she combines with her passion for collecting. Jessie mainly works with paper and fabric, all of which are ‘found’ and pre-used – this being her passion, her inspiration and always her starting point.

“My needle and thread act as my drawing tool, I use favourite and usually found threads to illustrate chosen imagery and words directly onto and into my chosen fabrics, books, papers and found items.”

Back by popular demand! American roots music at its best…

Americana group from Olympia/Minneapolis, The Lowest Pair, feature double banjo duo Kendl Winter and Palmer T.  They have gained a reputation as one of the most original old-time influenced duos working the circuit. The pair first combined in 2013 and quickly established a big Stateside following.

After the release of two albums in 2016, AmericanaUK called them “a true joy,” while Acoustic Magazine said they were “incredibly atmospheric.”  Lonesome Highway (Ireland) described the pair as “a musical marriage made in heaven.”  “Music for sunshine and mint juleps” – Folk Radio UK

Kendl Winter, born in Arkansas, put three solo records out and performed in nationally-touring northwest string bands before forming The Lowest Pair with Palmer T. Lee. Palmer built his first banjo when he was 19 from pieces he serendipitously inherited. He began cutting his teeth fronting Minneapolis string bands and touring the midwest festival circuit, which is where he and Kendl first met, on the banks of the Mississippi. In 2015, while touring in support of their second, critically-acclaimed album, The Sacred Heart Sessions, they continued to write and found themselves with more new songs than they needed for their planned follow-up, deciding ambitiously that two collections should be released together.

Those records, Fern Girl and Ice Man, and Uncertain As It Is Uneven, could be viewed as windows into their growing and changing world. The latter stays the course of their previous releases, being focused on stripped down, intimate arrangements to support their timeless song-writing and haunting vocals. Fern Girl is a more moody and adventurous exploration of new sounds, new studio production directions, and what it might sound like to be supported by a full band, while keeping one foot planted in the rootsy aesthetics which drew them together.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

A YOUNG MUSICIAN SHOWCASE

Rachmaninoff’s Trio Elégiaque No 1; Dvořák’s Trio No 4 ‘Dumky’; Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op 97 ‘Archduke’

The Fradley Piano Trio was founded by pianist George Fradley and cellist Katja Cross in 2013 and they are excited to announce their new violinist Samuel Hau. They have performed at concerts and festivals in London as well as across Wales. As well as formal performance, the Trio enjoy participating in outreach work including, running masterclasses for students.

George Fradley began playing the piano aged six. He currently studies at the Royal Academy of Music, having previously studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. In 2016, he was a prize winner of the Eric Hodges Beethoven prize and the Beethoven Intercollegiate Competition.

Katja Cross graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in July 2017, Katja was awarded the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society ‘Sir John Barbirolli Memorial Foundation Grant’, which enabled her to purchase a 1750’s Old English, James Preston cello. Katja also works for luthier Christopher King at Cardiff Violins and is the cello specialist advising beginners, amateurs and professionals on the set ups of their instruments.

Samuel Hau was awarded a scholarship to study with Marius Bedeschi at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Samuel is currently studying at the Royal College of Music with Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky and is an RCM Award Holder.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Come to the Chapel to experience rural Ukraine, its culture and traditions through a talk by Nataliya Cummings, illustrated by photos from bespoke small group tours that she organises to Carpathian Mountains. There are still spaces left on Lviv City Tour in May and the Cultural Carpathian Experience in July this year. She also brings unique hand-woven textiles from this unknown part the Eastern Europe that we have currently on sale downstairs in the Chapel. Have a taste of Ukrainian handpicked herbal tea and finish the morning with wonderful Ukrainian borscht that can be ordered from the cafe, lovingly prepared by our chef using an authentic family recipe from Nataliya.

More information about tours could be found here www.experienceukraine.co.uk

SARA TRICKEY (violin) & DANIEL TONG (piano)

Schubert’s Sonatina; Adonis by David Matthews (written for Sara Trickey); R Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending; Beethoven Violin Sonata No 5 ‘Spring’

Sara Trickey is a solo violinist and chamber musician. After reading classics at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, she has played with acclaimed orchestras, trios and quartets, coming second in the Cremona International Quartet competition and winning the Royal Overseas League competition. The Evening Standard lauded her latest CD, a Schubert recital with Daniel Tong a ‘melting lyricism tinged with melancholy… Irresistible!’ Reviewing the same CD, the BBC Music Magazine wrote ‘Perhaps the first thing that strikes one of the hearing of this release is the quality of the pianism. Not its dazzling virtuosity…. but the sheer full-blooded refinement of the playing.’ 

A Cornish solo pianist and chamber musician who has performed in leading British venues and festivals as well as around Europe, Daniel Tong can often be heard on BBC Radio and has curated both an Elgar and Dvorak festival at King’s Place, London. He founded ‘Music Discovery Live’ and London Bridge Ensemble and collaborates with some of the UK’s most exciting musicians.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Based in Brooklyn, New York, twin brothers Adam and David Moss perform in the great traditions of family folk and bluegrass. David plays the cello and guitar whilst Adam is on the fiddle and their captivating and beautiful harmonies uplift their original creative arrangements.

Those with fingers on the pulse of what’s happening Stateside are already aware of the reputation developed by The Brother Brothers from stunning live performances that have had the grapevine buzzing. It’s rare for so many other well established acts to be collectively singing the praises of their contemporaries but that’s what has been happening in the USA with Lake Street Dive, Sarah Jarosz and Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys all declaring themselves to be big fans.

At last the UK will get a chance to experience what it is that has been winning them so much valuable attention. There’s a new album on the way after their debut EP created such an impact. Sarah Jarosz said they were ‘a joy to behold;’ Folkwords declared: ‘put these two together and magic happens’. Songwriting magazine described their music as ‘bewitching’, while Rock n Reel magazine said the record was an ‘exquisite’ collection, and writing at AmericanaUK, Peter Churchill said they had ‘the tightest harmonies you are likely to hear this year’.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

NICHOLAS BUCKNALL (clarinet), FRANCIS BUCKNALL (cello) & DAVID ELWIN (piano)

Beethoven’s Trio Op 11; Mansel Thomas’ Six Pieces for Cello & Piano; Brahms’ Trio Op 114

Nicholas Bucknall is a solo clarinettist whose performances have been heard on the Oscar winning film scores to ‘Emma’ and ‘The English Patient’, ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and ‘Gosford Park’, among others. Rachel Portman, the composer of Emma, said of him ‘I have never heard another player come close to producing such a uniquely beautiful tone.’  Bucknall was educated at St, Paul’s Cathedral Choir School, London and studied with Alan Hacker at the Royal Academy of Music. He has worked with many orchestras and ensembles and started recording soundtracks with David Attenborough’s BBC series ‘Life on Earth’.

Francis Bucknall grew up in Monmouth and after two years of a Mechanical Engineering course, changed direction to study the cello at Trinity College of Music, London. He went on to study with Megan Mansel Thomas, William Pleeth and Alexander Baillie before becoming the third cellist in the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1989, where he continues to play today.

David Elwin is a piano soloist who studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Jean Harvey and Max Pirani. He has worked With the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet as well as with distinguished singers, musicians and choirs all over the UK.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

ALAW combines the craftsmanship of three leading musicians who bring a wealth of experience to a shared passion – the traditional music of Wales. Whether unearthing rare gems or reimagining a well loved melody they treat their music with a deftness and sensitivity that is thoroughly absorbing. Combined with powerful song writing and original tunes, this makes for a musical experience that will stay with the listener long after the concert has ended.

This special concert at the Chapel celebrates the launch of ALAW’s new album ‘Dead Man’s Dance’ and they will be joined by guest singer Gwilym Bowen Rhys.

Oli Wilson-Dickson, Jamie Smith and Dylan Fowler have a long history of working together, sharing projects such as The Devil’s Violin, Szapora and The Ian McMillan Orchestra. Oli and Jamie are well known throughout the folk world as the frontline of Jamie Smith’s Mabon. From stirring song to driving jigs – they communicate their music with relaxed humour and a genuine affection that is truly infectious.

‘Quietly reflective gems’ The Sunday Times

‘the playing fairly sparkles… and embodies a miraculous degree of sensitivity in its sheer deftness’ NetRhthms

‘One heck of a rollicking blast of foot-stomping Celtic glory!’ Acoustic Magazine

‘Punchy, rhythmic and eminently danceable, Alaw’s jigs and reels have a vitality which is rare indeed.’ Living Tradition

‘exquisite’ fRoots

‘Alluring and Haunting’ Songlines

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

At the end of their performance of the Shostakovich quartet last season, the Mavron Quartet was met by a long moment of silence, before the Chapel was filled with tumultuous applause. There can have been no finer demonstration of the ability of these skilled and creative performers to draw the deepest sounds and response from four instruments.

This season Mavron return to Russia with Tchaikovsky’s first quartet premiered in Moscow in 1871, of which the second movement was said by the composer to have caused Tolstoy to weep with emotion. Mozart originally wrote the quartet K80 in three movements in 1770, the fourth being added possibly in 1773. Maurice Ravel composed the four movements of his only quartet in 1903.

Whilst now world famous, the Mavron Quartet remains proudly Welsh!

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Meet young Jerron Paxton, born in 1989, an American musician from Los Angeles, a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. He draws from blues and jazz music before World War II – influenced by Fats Waller and ‘Blind’ Lemon Jefferson. The virtuoso is a joyous entertainer, humorous with a smooth vernacular, dazzling wit, a terrific storyteller, exuding an affable excitement. He hails from an African American Jewish family with mixed Creole/Choctaw Indian ancestry, transplanted Louisiana sharecroppers who moved to South Central Los Angeles, but Jerron now lives in Queens. In other words, he is a true American.

Will Friedwald writes in the Wall Street Journal ‘Paxton is virtually the only music-maker of his generation – playing guitar, banjo, piano and violin, among other implements – to fully assimilate the blues idiom of the 1920s and ’30s, the blues of Bessie Smith and Lonnie Johnson’

He is the whole package – witty, fast rhyming, poetic, fun, exciting, wonderfully skilled as a musician and a fine singer. Clearly destined for greatness, he is very young and his career will ascend like a rocket. Phil Wiggins, harmonica ace, referred to Jerron as ‘a musical genius’.

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JEANETTE MASSOCCHI (piano) & CATHERINE KING (mezzo)

Berlioz Les Nuits d’été, Op. 7, Schumann Frauenliebe und -leben, Op. 42

The first lieder recital following the arrival of a magnificent 1919 Bechstein grand piano at the Chapel.

Catherine King’s spectrum of performance spans Rameau to Tippett via Elgar, whilst Jeanette Massocchi is so well known and universally respected as a pianist and teacher that she probably needs no further introduction to an Abergavenny audience.

Hector Berlioz is memorable for the great passionate Romantic scale of his symphonies, his operas and his personal life. Indeed, his friend Théophile Gautier said ‘he had unexpected effects in sound and tumultuous Shakespearian depths of passion’. However, opening the concert with ‘Les Nuits d’Eté’, his settings of six poems from Gautier’s ‘La Comédie de la Mort’, will show another side of Berlioz.

During Robert Schumann’s turbulent wooing of Clara Wieck, he wrote settings of Adelbert von Chamisso’s poems ‘A Woman’s Life and Loves’.

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3 DAY LIFE-DRAWING COURSE with Meriel Gold

Martin Outram (viola), Katherine Thomas (harp) and Sarah Newbold (flute) are well known soloists, but also play chamber music together.

Opening their concert, “Magic Flute, A Mozartian Diversion” uses themes from Mozart’s Zauberflöte. Arnold Bax and Claude Debussy composed their trios during the dark days of World War 1, Debussy in 1915 and Bax his Elegiac Trio in 1916, but there is no evidence that either knew of the other’s work at the time.

Welsh composer William Mathias had in common with Mozart his very early ability to compose music, Mathias beginning at the age of five although he was in his mid fifties when he wrote the Zodiac Trio in 1976.

Katherine Thomas is a harpist who has performed with artists varying from Bryn Terfel and Rolando Villazon to Katherine Jenkins and the Manic Street Preachers. She has toured extensively as a soloist and with orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera (WNO) with whom she is Associate Principal Harp. A graduate of Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she studied the harp with David Watkins, Katherine plays the traditional celtic and triple harps as well as the pedal harp.

Sarah Newbold is a member of the Academy of St. Martin in-the-Fields and the New London Orchestra, and formerly of both Welsh National Opera and the London Philharmonic.As a freelance player she works with many orchestras in Great Britain, regularly with the Philharmonia and London Symphony Orchestra. She is able to work in a variety of musical styles ranging from opera, symphony and chamber orchestras, chamber music and recitals, to film sessions and period instrument work. She has been a professor of flute at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama since 1989.

Martin Outram studied at Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music and since then has enjoyed a wide ranging career as quartet player, soloist and teacher. As a member of the internationally renowned Maggini Quartet he has played throughout Europe, North America and the Far East. Martin appears frequently as a soloist. His repertoire embraces the major works for viola. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, where he has been a professor since 1984. He is also an Honorary Fellow and Senior Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University and an Honorary Fellow of Brunel University.

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A concert programme ranging from the spiritual intensity of the medieval cathedral to the suave decadence of the American barber shop. Whilst some songs are traditional or anonymous, acknowledged composers include Clemant Janequin from 15th Century French Renaissance and Eric Whitacre from 21st Century Reno, Nevada.

Octavo was formed in 2013. A bunch of like-minded souls, whose paths had crossed over a number of years in London and West Country vocal circles, decided that they needed an outlet for their talent that comprised smaller forces. That’s about it, but what better excuse do you need to meet than the prospect of 8-part vocal harmony with friends? We have performed in a huge variety of venues ranging from the tiny church of Stanley Pontlarge, a hamlet in Gloucestershire, to the vast and wonderful spaces of the abbeys of Tewkesbury and Bath and from HR Prison at Long Lartin to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire. Our programmes range across the whole spectrum of choral music from the Renaissance through to the present day and encompass sacred and secular, classical and contemporary, folk songs and songs from the shows.

PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS AVAILABLE DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Beethoven: Judas Maccabeus Variations; Martinu: Sonata 3; Brahms: Sonata in F op 99

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Abergavenny Chamber Music began their chamber music concerts at the Chapel with a Bach cello concert by Raphael Wallfisch. We are delighted to open the second season with another appearance by this internationally renowned cellist, this time joined by his very long time collaborator, pianist John York. They have a wide repertoire, from premieres of contemporary work to 19th century obscurities.

60 years separate Brahms’ sonata from the Beethoven variations, and there is a similar gap between the Brahms and the Martinů. It is extraordinary that Beethoven not only invented the cello sonata but also, over just two decades, perfected it, leaving five masterpieces in the genre! But, in order to do that, he also needed to explore the new-fangled combination of instruments, to try things out – and that’s where the variation sets came in. Well-loved melodies, ‘hits’ of the time, are borrowed from Handel and Mozart. (British audiences know the Handel theme as ‘Thine is the glory.’) Following Beethoven’s example, many 19^th century and 20^th century composers contributed cello sonatas and Brahms’ Op. 99 represents the very finest achievement in the genre in its day – 1886. A brilliantly judged balance of technical challenges, compositional cleverness, melodic richness and sheer entertainment value ensure its everlasting popularity. Martinů’s music, however, might be less familiar to the audience tonight – but have no fear! A virtuoso display, motoric repetition and loads of rollicking panache that he sums up at the brilliant finish.  (John York)

Raphael Wallfisch is one of the most celebrated cellists performing on the international stage. At the age of 24 he won the Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition in Florence. Since then he has enjoyed a world-wide career playing with such orchestras as the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Berlin Symphony, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic and many others. He is regularly invited to play at major festivals such as the BBC Proms, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, Spoleto, Prades, Oslo and Schleswig Holstein. He is in demand as a teacher all over the world and holds the position of professor of cello in Switzerland at the Zürich Hochschule der Kunst.

John York‘s 40 year career has taken him around the world, working with some of the finest orchestras, soloists and chamber groups. The majority of his work has always been with Raphael Wallfisch and York2 piano duo. Before his duos became established 30 years ago, he had already won the International Debussy Prize in Paris, played concertos with such orchestras as the London Mozart Players and the London Philharmonic, founded the successful York Piano Trio and Piano Quartet and partnered a list of illustrious performers in many countries. He was professor at the Guildhall for 33 years, and Senior Music Head at St Paul’s Girls’ School, London for 20 years.

An abundance of functional, decorative, handmade ceramics for all occasions. Everything is for sale, come and meet some of the best contemporary makers working today –

Dylan Bowen – wheel-thrown and hand-built gestural slipware. Trained at Camberwell College of Arts, exhibited at the Besson Gallery and Contemporary Ceramics, London.  Jane Bowen – hand-thrown, decorated slipware. Trained at Camberwell College of Arts, apprentice to Clive Bowen.  James & Tilla Waters – hand-thrown porcelain & stoneware. Purity of form. Both taught by Rupert Spira who was taught by Michael Cardew and he in turn by Bernard Leach.  James Burnett Stuart – hand-thrown earthenware. Trained at Harrow College, has made tableware for The Conran Shop, Designer’s Guild and Egg. Featured in World of Interiors, Elle Decoration and Country Living. Artist-in-Residence at Charleston.  Dan Hides – wheel-thrown domestic ware in English slipware tradition. Apprenticed at Dartington Pottery, trained at Falmouth School of Art.  Tim Lake – hand-thrown stoneware. Trained at Falmouth School of Art.  Louise Brosnan MA RCA – hand-built, decorated vessels. Trained at Royal College of Art after Printmaking and Fine Art at Camberwell College of Arts. Has worked in textiles, film/animation as well as ceramics, referencing childhood memories, toys, wallpaper, fabric etc.  Cornelia O’Donovan MA RCA – hand decorated ceramics. Trained at Royal College of Art. Plays with folklore, poetry, myth and especially tales native to the British Isles.  Chloe Charrington – new comer and emerging maker of hand-thrown stoneware. Elegant, fine shapes.

Cornelia O’Donovan’s solo exhibition ‘Dream Paintings’ will be showing at The Art Shop on Cross Street, continuing until 14th October (just 2 mins away).

Enjoy a memorable supper with chef, Rosie Sykes, using recipes taken from her acclaimed, recently published book ‘The Sunday Night Book’. For menu see our kitchen page

Angela Hartnett ‘Rosie is one of the great cooks of our time – so humble, brilliant ideas, wonderful cooking and writing you want to read over and over again… Rosie cooks the food you want to eat all the time – unpretentious and delicious.’

Fergus Henderson ‘The Sunday Night Book tells a story I couldn’t be happier with. Ideas for delicious food for the weekend often pop up through the week and these often get altered on a Sunday night; having seen the book, Rosie can alter my food any time!’

Shaun Hill ‘Rosie Sykes is a proper cook who cooks proper food with flair and skill. These recipes are all achievable but, more than that, very desirable even on nights other than Sunday. Excellent book.’

Rosie Sykes is a chef, writer and consultant. She has worked with Joyce Molyneux, Shaun Hill and Margot Henderson and co-authored the ‘The Kitchen Revolution’. Rosie set up the critically acclaimed gastropub the Sutton Arms in London’s Smithfields and is now development chef for the much-loved meat, beer & bread specialist the Pint Shop in Cambridge and Oxford.

“Outstanding” – AmericanaUK   “A name we’ll be hearing a lot about” – Folking.com   “Classy American acoustic music” – fRoots magazine

Michigan songbirds, Rachael Davis, Lindsay Lou Rilko and May Erlewine take your breath away almost as an amazing force of nature might have the same effect.

Since coming together, the three singing sirens and multi-instrumentalists whose repertoire swings from gospel and bluegrass to soul and even joyful interpretations of pop, have become one of the hottest properties on the US roots music circuit.

With three-part vocal harmonies that are sublime, they trade instruments including mountain fiddle and banjo, uke, guitar and double bass. When they released their latest recording in the UK, it attracted much praise, AmericanaUK awarding the disc a 9/10 rating. “Outstanding! This is top drawer roots music,” said reviewer Rick Bayles.

Lindsay Lou Rilko is perhaps better known as lead vocalist with her other popular band The Flatbellys. They were one of the main visiting attractions at Celtic Connections in January, and featured in the BBC2 TV Highlights programme. She was nominated in the 2016 Best Vocalist category by the prestigious International Bluegrass Music Association. Rachael Davis is an award-winning performer in her own right and May Erlewine has a voice that is instantly recognisable, her material being sung and recorded by many other artists.

The trio is making a rare appearance on this side of the Atlantic for a short string of dates that include main stage shows at Didmarton Bluegrass Festival and Towersey Folk Festival.

Online tickets available here

Classical, jazz and folk influences merge into a beautiful unique landscape.

Welsh Marches based duo, Beresford & Hammond will be launching their new album ‘Each Edge of the Field’ at the Chapel.

‘A prime example of pure creativity’ The Musician   ‘Could very easily become habit-forming’ John Eyles All About Jazz   ‘This stuff comes form a border country and a border state’ The Wire

Charlie Beresford (acoustic guitar/voice) – as a musician and recording engineer, Charlie has been involved with classical, folk and improv projects with artists such as Russian free jazz prodigy Alexy Kruglov, Britfolk legend June Tabor, poet Ian McMillan and Judie Tzuke among others. As well as working as a solo artist with four albums to his name, he is a member of Fourth Page and works with cellist Sonia Hammond in a duo and trio format (with the addition of Carolyn Hume of Fourth Page). In his other life as a visual artist he founded ‘The 52nd’ project with Quebec based art photographer/filmaker Gaëna Da Sylva.

Sonia Hammond (cello) – was classically trained at Birmingham school of Music and the Royal College of Music, London and has since forged an eclectic freelance career. She has recorded with Chloe Goodchild, Barb Jungr, Babysnakes and Ennui and played in venues ranging from the rooftops of Timbuktu to the Camphill Communities of UK and Europe. Sonia is currently principal ‘cellist in the Brecknock Sinfonia and plays regularly with Castalia String Quartet and the Radnor Improvisers . Her first solo Bach CD was recorded live by Charlie Beresford at St Mary’s Church, Hay-on –Wye on 28th March 2014.

Beresford and Hammond met whilst working with the Radnor Improvisers, an improvising group which they are founding members of. Their first album ‘The Science of Snow’ was born when the two found themselves at a loose end due to a cancelled studio session and used the opportunity to record some duo improvisations together just to see where it would go. From this the duo decided to release the recording through Charlie and Gaëna Da Sylva’s art project ‘The 52nd’ and a small cottage industry label began which sent out copies far and wide with no expectation. Happily ‘The Science of Snow’ received critical acclaim in both the UK and mainland Europe and World wide radio airplay from the US to Germany. That year culminated in the duo performing in Hungary and Austria as well as the the UK. In 2016 they teamed up with pianist Carolyn Hume to form the Beresford Hammond Hume trio and released the also much lauded album ‘The Lightning Bell’ through ‘The 52nd’.This CD contains performances by the singer Judie Tzuke who joined them on a couple of their laid back recording sessions. So they are now following all this with a new duo recording ‘Each Edge of the Field’. This nine track CD, recorded in the same free spirited attitude as the first, sees them ‘hone their craft as they carve out an increasingly distinctive niche in the world of improvised music’  Jazz Mann

Buy tickets online here

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WHERE TO NOW? STOCKHAUSEN, GLASS, ARVO PART…?

The last in this series of informal and inspiring music workshops at the Chapel. No previous knowledge is necessary, everything is provided, just bring a pen and notebook.

Lionel Elton set up the successful programme of chamber concerts hosted at the Chapel. The next series begins this September with a performance by cellist, Raphael Wallfisch. Lionel was principal clarinettist in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales before receiving a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Later he was artistic director of the London Chamber Music Society (1986-2003).

AN ILLUSTRATED DISCUSSION WITH BIOGRAPHER, ART CRITIC & CURATOR, PETER WAKELIN

The late Roger Cecil has been described as one of the greatest modern artists of Wales but until recently his work had never been discussed in any books on Welsh or British art. He devoted his whole life to painting, working in the terraced house where he grew up in Abertillery.

Three of the people who knew Roger Cecil will discuss his life and work in conversation with his biographer, Peter Wakelin: curator Meg Anthony, artist Chris Griffin and Pauline Griffiths of The Art Shop & Chapel.

The discussion will be illustrated with slides and a selection of original paintings.

Copies of Peter Wakelin’s new book Roger Cecil: A Secret Artist (Sansom & Co, 2017) will be for sale after the event.

The café/ bar and bookshop will be open all evening.

20TH CENTURY – FROM RAVEL TO BRITTEN & BEYOND

The 3rd in this series of informal and inspiring music workshops at the Chapel. No previous knowledge is necessary, everything is provided, just bring a pen and notebook.

Lionel Elton set up the successful programme of chamber concerts hosted at the Chapel. The next series begins this September with a performance by cellist, Raphael Wallfisch. Lionel was principal clarinettist in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales before receiving a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Later he was artistic director of the London Chamber Music Society (1986-2003).

Private view on Thursday 25 May 7-9pm

OWEN’S 2ND YEAR AT THE CHAPEL – AN EXHIBITION OF ANTIQUE TEXTILES CELEBRATING THE LOST TRADITION OF COLOUR & DESIGN

Owen Parry is a dealer, buying and selling, restoring and conserving for collectors, decorators and dealers. He has a fine knowledge and love of the weaving traditions of nomadic tribes, enabling him to specialise in pieces of rarity and beauty which are fast disappearing from the open market. Owen started as a repairer at the respected Lannowe Restoration Studio. He had the rare opportunity to handle and work on some of the best examples of early classical pieces and top quality tribal material on the market.

Owen exhibits several times a year in London and San Francisco and is a regular exhibitor around the world: ACOR (American Conference of Oriental Rugs); ICOC (International Conference of Oriental Rugs); Hali Fair (London); Sartirana (Italy); KARMA (Kensington Rug Merchants Association, London); LARTA (London Antique Rug and Textile Arts); Arts (San Francisco). He has had several articles published in HALI magazine.

All textiles and rugs are for sale.

ROMANTICISM IN MUSIC – SCHUMANN, BRAHMS, MAHLER…

The 2nd in this series of informal and inspiring music workshops at the Chapel. No previous knowledge is necessary, everything is provided, just bring a pen and notebook.

Lionel Elton set up the successful programme of chamber concerts hosted at the Chapel. The next series begins this September with a performance by cellist, Raphael Wallfisch. Lionel was principal clarinettist in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales before receiving a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Later he was artistic director of the London Chamber Music Society (1986-2003).

Rarely will you hear such beautiful American roots music so perfectly performed.

Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee have found themselves in the premier league after gaining a reputation as one of the most original old-time influenced duos working the circuit. The pair first combined in 2013 and quickly established a big Stateside following. This will be their UK debut (they are one of the main visiting attractions being flown in for Shetland Folk Festival).

After the release of two albums in 2016, AmericanaUK called them “a true joy,” while Acoustic Magazine said they were “incredibly atmospheric.”  Lonesome Highway (Ireland) described the pair as “a musical marriage made in heaven.”  “Music for sunshine and mint juleps” – Folk Radio UK

The Lowest Pair have John Hartford to thank for their name – and the title of one of their latest albums. The duo has been building up an impressive Stateside head of steam since combining in 2013 to embark on their incredible musical journey.

Kendl Winter, born in Arkansas, put three solo records out and performed in nationally-touring northwest string bands before forming The Lowest Pair with Palmer T. Lee. Palmer built his first banjo when he was 19 from pieces he serendipitously inherited. He began cutting his teeth fronting Minneapolis string bands and touring the midwest festival circuit, which is where he and Kendl first met, on the banks of the Mississippi. In 2015, while touring in support of their second, critically-acclaimed album, The Sacred Heart Sessions, they continued to write and found themselves with more new songs than they needed for their planned follow-up, deciding ambitiously that two collections should be released together.

Those new records, Fern Girl and Ice Man, and Uncertain As It Is Uneven, could be viewed as windows into their growing and changing world. The latter stays the course of their previous releases, being focused on stripped down, intimate arrangements to support their timeless song-writing and haunting vocals. Fern Girl is a more moody and adventurous exploration of new sounds, new studio production directions, and what it might sound like to be supported by a full band, while keeping one foot planted in the rootsy aesthetics which drew them together.

When the albums were simultaneously released in the UK, the reaction was enthusiastic and instantaneous.

BACH, HANDEL & TELEMANN – 3 GIANTS OF THE BAROQUE

This season Lionel is holding informal and inspiring music workshops downstairs at the Chapel. No previous knowledge is necessary, everything is provided, just bring a pen and notebook.

Lionel Elton set up the successful programme of chamber concerts hosted at the Chapel. The next series begins this September with a performance by cellist, Raphael Wallfisch. Lionel was principal clarinettist in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales before receiving a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Later he was artistic director of the London Chamber Music Society (1986-2003).

Pam Wright and Claire Burgoyne are back by popular demand to run a second two-day drawing workshop at the Chapel. First date is Wednesday 19th April followed by Wednesday 26th April.

Each of us sees and responds to the world in our own unique way. How do we go about discovering our own creative identity, and how do we find are own language that expresses for us what we have discovered. This workshop will offer an insight into how the process of drawing can be a platform from which to discover this for yourself.

This two day drawing workshop is written to help you further understand the connection between what you see, feel and understand about your own creative identity. The workshop will begin with a conversation between 2 people who both use drawing as a way of visualizing the world in their own distinctive style.

Day one: will begin with a series of alternative drawing approaches that enables you to see the world in different ways and open up unexpected possible starting points from which to work. We will explore ways of producing different visual languages eg: sound drawings, memory mapping, drawing with light, data drawing, etc. that will become a collection of mark making personal to you. We will also be working with rhythm, poetry and music. A home activity will be set in response to the days work, and in preparation for day two.

Day two: will begin with a shared conversation between all the participants in response to the home activity as you begin to search more deeply into what has made you curious. As the day proceeds, you will be supported as you follow your instinctual responses to see where they lead. This will be underpinned by additional activities.

Expected Outcomes: Experimental drawings / A body of work on which to base future practice / An ability to reflect and evaluate on a personal level / An understanding of your own creative identity / New ways of seeing the inner and outer world

Pam Wright and Claire Burgoyne met whilst both working at Hereford College of Arts. They have continued to work collaboratively exploring their interests in how to communicate ideas through drawing.

An evening of string trios by Schubert, Penderecki and Mozart. Penderecki’s 1990 “dramatic and lyrical” trio is framed by Schubert’s beautiful 1817 trio and Mozart’s great 1788 Divertimento, widely regarded as the very first true string trio in which each instrument carries equal weight.

FROM REQUESTS WE ARE NOW ABLE TO OFFER PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. MENU FROM OUR BLACKBOARD. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Concert tickets available from THE ART SHOP, the Chapel & Abergavenny Music.

Prints inspired by flowers and foliage.

Explore this painterly printing process with Adrienne at the Chapel.

With use of the wonderful printing press at the chapel, you will paint onto acrylic sheet with coloured printing inks and by drawing and wiping into the ink, create images that will be put through the press and transferred to paper. The prints can be made with a single pressing or various layers of ink can be built up by successive printings.

Experienced artists can benefit from exploring their ideas in a different medium but no artistic experience is necessary to take part in this workshop.

Adrienne will bring plenty of ideas and inspirational material to work from although you may want to bring in some personal ideas and sketches.

Adrienne Says – ‘I find monoprinting a seductive process, that captures the energy of brushstrokes and mark making. It enables you to make ‘paintings’ reasonably swiftly, and mixing the coloured viscose inks on the plate is a satisfyingly child like indulgence. Who hasn’t taken pleasure in applying paint to a surface – as we did as school children when we folded paper in half and made ‘symmetrical’ butterfly images – to see what image will appear.’

Adrienne Craddock will be exhibiting her prints, paintings and mixed media alongside Shellie Byatt, in the exhibition ‘Surprise in the Shrubbery’ opening on Saturday 18th March at The Art Shop.

Programme will include the Alvor Ensemble recital of duos by Ibert, Faure, Godard and Haydn.

Sarah Newbold is a member of the Academy of St. Martin in-the-Fields and the New London Orchestra, and formerly of both Welsh National Opera and the London Philharmonic.As a freelance player she works with most of the orchestras in Great Britain and regularly with the Philharmonia and London Symphony Orchestra. She is able to work in a variety of musical styles ranging from opera, symphony and chamber orchestras, chamber music and recitals, to film sessions and period instrument work.

Teaching plays an important part in Sarah’s musical life and she has been a professor of flute at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama since 1989. In collaboration with Ian Clarke she redesigned the technical requirements for the woodwind at the Guildhall School, this has led to invitations to present workshops at the “Reflective Conservatoire” conference at the Barbican, London and also the “Professional Development” Seminar in Helsinki, Finland. Together with Zoe Smith, piano, she is director of the Llangenny Flute Summer School which is in its fourth highly successful year. Sarah is a regular coach for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain both for their open days and the main orchestra courses.

Sarah studied the flute with Atarah Ben Tovim and Alan Lockwood at Huddersfield Polytechnic and with Peter Lloyd at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  She completed her studies at the National Centre for Orchestral Studies.

Katherine Thomas is a harpist who has performed with artists varying from Bryn Terfel and Rolando Villazon to Katherine Jenkins and the Manic Street Preachers. She has toured extensively as a soloist and with orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera (WNO) with whom she is Associate Principal Harp. A graduate of Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she studied the harp with David Watkins, Katherine plays the traditional celtic and triple harps as well as the pedal harp.

Her recordings range from classical music, traditional Welsh music to contemporary recordings and she has featured on numerous broadcasts and recordings with WNO. Katherine has published several technical volumes for the harp (published by ALAW) and is a prolific arranger for the instrument.

She currently teaches the harp at Christ College Brecon.

FROM REQUESTS WE ARE NOW ABLE TO OFFER PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. MENU FROM OUR BLACKBOARD. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Concert tickets available from THE ART SHOP, the Chapel & Abergavenny Music.

Programme will include the Suite Americana by Enrique Crespo and music from Grieg’s Peer Gynt.

Jaspa Brass is a brass quintet formed at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2014 featuring Josh Barber, Angharad Grimwood, Sam Holburt, Amy Harding and Peter Greenwood. They are a versatile and energetic ensemble with a passion for chamber music. Their varied repertoire of classical and contemporary music makes them perfect to suit a variety of different events and occasions. They have performed at a number of different events including Cardiff Museum as well as Christmas Carol Services and college events all executing a wide variety of repertoire.

In 2015 they were selected as finalist for the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble Competition, one example of the numerous competitions and events that the quintet take part in. The ensemble have also received regular coaching from tutors such as Chris Mowat, Kevin Price and Nigel Seaman.

FROM REQUESTS WE ARE NOW ABLE TO OFFER PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. MENU FROM OUR BLACKBOARD. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Concert tickets available from THE ART SHOP, the Chapel & Abergavenny Music.

The first of our Spring series of Friday night concerts.

Recital will include Haydn Quartet op 76/2, Shostakovich Quartet no 8 and Borodin Quartet no 2.

Mavron Quartet was formed in September 2002 with Christiana Mavron – Violin,  Charlotte MacClure – Violin,  Niamh Aston – Viola,  Beatrice Newman – cello.

It is the first Ensemble in Residence at the National Concert Hall of Wales, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, following residency since 2005 at the Gate Arts Centre, Cardiff. In 2004 the Quartet members were appointed Junior Fellows in Chamber Music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and since 2003, worked for the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust. In 2012 they were Young Artists in Residence at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. Concerts have included the Mozart Clarinet Quintet with Michael Collins and they have been invited to play at venues including Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

FROM REQUESTS WE ARE NOW ABLE TO OFFER PRE-CONCERT SUPPERS DOWNSTAIRS AT THE CHAPEL KITCHEN. MENU FROM OUR BLACKBOARD. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AS SEATING IS LIMITED 01873 736430

Concert tickets available from THE ART SHOP, the Chapel & Abergavenny Music

In an English folk scene currently bursting with bold and innovative folk music, vocal trio Lady Maisery shine brightly. With their unique approach to harmony singing and thoughtful, striking arrangements of both traditional repertoire and original compositions, Lady Maisery are skilful explorers of the power, beauty and vitality of folk song. Each member is also an accomplished instrumentalist, they expertly create a rich tapestry of fiddle, banjo, harp, concertina, accordion and foot percussion – Hannah James (Kerfuffle, duo with Sam Sweeney), Hazel Askew (The Askew Sisters, The Artisans) and Rowan Rheingans (Fidola). The trio are also one of the foremost English proponents of traditional mouth music, or “diddling”, a form of singing without words which is a perfect showcase for their sheer musicality.

Over the last five years, the trio have released two critically acclaimed albums (5 stars in the Financial Times, Album of the Week in The Independent) made many appearances on national radio and toured widely, performing sell-out shows across the UK and Europe. Lady Maisery’s hotly anticipated third album ‘Cycle’ is to be released in Autumn 2016.

‘The most exquisite, thrilling vocal harmony work in the English folk scene ★★★★’ THE GUARDIAN

‘Lady Maisery are women with ideas, purpose and urgency…powerful, enthralling work’ ★★★★★ SONGLINES

‘Three of the most vibrant, young talents of the new British Folk Wave’ MOJO

★★★★★ THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Nominated for the ‘Horizon’ BBC Folk Award 2012 and for ‘Best Debut’ at the Spiral Awards 2012.

Would you like to cross the boundaries of words, images and sounds through drawing to see where they may take you? Are you curious about what drawing could be for you?

Come to this two-day workshop which will help you discover your own visual language. Second date is on Wednesday 16th November.

What is the workshop about?

This workshop will offer an insight into how the process of drawing can be a platform from which to discover your own visual language. Through exploring different drawing approaches it will help you to further your awareness of the connection between what you see, feel and understand and the paradox that when we lose ourselves we find ourselves more fully. When working creatively we engage mind and heart.

 Who is the workshop for?

This workshop is for you if you are interested in communicating creatively. You may have little drawing experience or you may be an artist or designer who would like to stand back from your own practice.

Pam Wright and Claire Burgoyne met whilst both working at Hereford College of Arts. They have continued to work collaboratively exploring their interests in how to communicate ideas through drawing.

Denni is back at the Chapel every Saturday afternoon for our Dance/Drama Drop-ins!

A unique experience, a first taste of acting through role-play, improvisation and storytelling. Working as part of a group, building confidence, tapping into their innate creativity, nurturing and guiding to produce inspiring performances. Denni worked with us last year, as one of 3 professional artists on A Winter Wildness, a series of creative workshops for children exploring art, movement and sound. These culminated in a magical evening performance on the Winter Solstice.

DENNI DENNIS – Studied at The Commedia School, Copenhagen, Denni has extensive training in the Jacques Lecoq style, Russian character clown and the Pochinko method (Native American spiritual clown). He combines clown, mask, dance, acting and improvisation to create unique and dynamic characters. His clown work has been featured in theatre, circus, dance performance and art installations.

All ages welcome.

My sessions include Kundalini Yoga through story-telling, songs, dance and movement not just the given yoga movements.
We sit and sing and bless our food and practice mindfulness eating by using silence and closing our eyes. There is always a lying down relaxation and sitting meditation with mantra or silence or both. For me yoga is a very spiritual practice, giving each child an opportunity to express themselves and to release what they may be holding in their bodies. It helps them to release anger and stress, develop emotional intelligence and their understanding and expression of who they truly are. Yoga is particularly helpful in addressing behavioural issues, stress or unmanageable temper tantrums.

After 10 years of practising many different schools of Yoga, Georgie trained as a Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Teacher and Healing Arts Therapy Practitioner in Cambodia in 2008.

All ages welcome.

Come and make some fabulous feathers from fabric.

Taking traditional costume from indigenous peoples such as Maori and rainforest peoples as our starting point, create fabric feathers using a range of techniques such as cutting, painting, appliqué, collage and stitching. Use your feathers to create a costume piece such as a feather headband, arm piece or necklace. You will leave the workshop with your own feathered creation to wear!

Tamsin trained in textile design at Loughborough College of Art and Design, and has worked as a costume designer and maker in film and TV. She runs her own collection of costume accessories for children called IWISHIWASA. Tamsin also teaches short courses in embellishment and customizing for clothing at Central St. Martins, London.

All ages welcome.

The story of Pip Munroe, a swashbuckling sailor of the Seven Seas. A few of his possessions were lifted from the wreckage of his boat when it was discovered on a beach in Pembrokeshire last year.

Helen Jukes works with people of all ages and backgrounds to help them explore the world through writing. She has delivered creative writing workshops for the Idler Academy, Crisis and Freedom from Torture and regularly offers support and tuition on a one-to-one basis.

All ages welcome.

An opportunity to attend a talk chaired by Dr Peter Wakelin, featuring Owen Sheers, Paul Henry, Peter Lord and Dan Llywelyn Hall discussing the timeless muse of the Welsh landscape using R.S Thomas’ poetry as an introduction.

Later everyone is welcome to join us for drinks at The Art Shop at 6pm for the Private View of ‘Welsh Landscape – Tirlun Cymru’  Paintings, drawings and etchings by Dan Llywelyn Hall and supporting artists. The exhibition continues at the Chapel where the Cor Meibion Male Voice Choir will perform.

Buy tickets online here.

The forthcoming Gwent Chamber Orchestra’s concert promises to be yet another jewel in the crown of fundraising activities planned by the local Eisteddfod committee.

The orchestra has strong associations with our area, having been formed in 1975 by David Gedge, then organist and choirmaster of Brecon Cathedral, with John Roberts as leader.They were based for many years at Ebbw Vale and provided the essential players for concerts in Brecon Cathedral and Monmouthshire-based choirs.

The concert will have an added poignancy, due to the recent passing of their founder, David Gedge – a legend in his own right.

Brewing coffee is very much a multi-sensory experience: the aromas, the sounds and the flavours all add to the enjoyment of the drink.

Join us for an evening of coffee brewing where we’ll explore the ritual of coffee making in more detail.

We’ll introduce you to some familiar (and possibly not so familiar) ways of brewing coffee: the humble yet effective cafetiere, the elegant looking coffee syphon, the ever popular V60 pourover and the modern-looking Aeropress will be some of the methods we’ll explore

An evening with the internationally renowned Welsh soprano, Elin Manahan Thomas and an opportunity after the performance to have an informal chat with the artist.

With accompanist, Andrew Wilson-Dickson.  This is an Eisteddfod fundraising event.

The programme will include Purcell’s Bess of Bedlam together with Handel’s Lascia ch’io pianga (from Rinaldo) and Angels ever bright and fair (from Theodora).

Elin was born and bred in Swansea, and first studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Clare College, Cambridge, before turning to the world of music, and to performing and presenting. She is known for both her interpretation of baroque repertoire and her performances of cutting edge new music, and made the world premiere recording of a newly-discovered Bach cantata in 2006 for Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

In 2012 Elin thrilled the world when she performed at the Paralympics Opening Ceremony in London before a global audience of one billion people. She is also a well-recognised presenter, and can be heard on Sunday nights on Radio 3’s Early Music Late. Radio and television performances include Classic FM’s 15th birthday concert, Songs of Praise’s ‘The Big Sing’, and she made her BBC Proms debut in 2013 in the Dr Who Prom, alongside Daleks! She was invited to perform in the Vatican on Easter Sunday, and has performed at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Royal Flanders Ballet.

Elin is an Artist in Residence of Bangor Music Festival where she recently gave a recital of new music and exciting premieres. She is an Honorary Fellow at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Swansea University and Bangor University.

An evening of music for recorder orchestra using all eight sizes of recorder from the tiny ‘Garkleinflötlein’ to the soprano, descant, treble, tenor and bass and then to the large contrabasses and great basses.

The orchestra is conducted by Sally Turner, who studied the recorder at the Music Academy in Stuttgart and has been conducting the orchestra for over 30 years. This is fifth time she has brought the orchestra to the UK and the players are especially looking forward to coming to Abergavenny again. The players vary in age from 17 to 85!

Musical Director: Sally Turner

Complete a woodcut in one day.

To coincide with his exhibition, ‘FIN RIVER SWIFT’, upstairs at the Chapel, Julian will be running a wood block printing workshop suitable for beginners and more experienced printmakers. There will be an opportunity to work on a large scale, on a 3 meter ash plank, along with a selection of smaller blocks. These print processes can be used at home.

Basic tools, paper & ink will be supplied. There will be a small charge for extra materials. Resource matter will be provided, just bring your overall.

‘My printing processes are interesting and useful for other people to learn as I do not use much equipment. I use a hand burnishing technique.’

You are welcome to come along to the exhibition Private View on Friday 13th May, 7-8.30pm, and hear Julian talk about his processes and inspiration.

STOP PRESS!
There will be no workshops on Saturday 30th April & Saturday 14th May

A unique experience, a first taste of acting through role-play, improvisation and storytelling. Working as part of a group, building confidence, tapping into their innate creativity, nurturing and guiding to produce inspiring performances. Denni worked with us last year, as one of 3 professional artists on A Winter Wildness, a series of creative workshops for children exploring art, movement and sound. These culminated in a magical evening performance on the Winter Solstice.

DENNI DENNIS – Studied at The Commedia School, Copenhagen, Denni has extensive training in the Jacques Lecoq style, Russian character clown and the Pochinko method (Native American spiritual clown). He combines clown, mask, dance, acting and improvisation to create unique and dynamic characters. His clown work has been featured in theatre, circus, dance performance and art installations.

We are launching a new paint product.

Join us at the Chapel, Market Street on Thursday 5th May at 7.30pm for a glass of wine and a presentaion talk by ‘Oricalcum’ managing director, Michiel Brouns.

Linseed oil paint can be applied to any surface. It protects from weather and wind, the ravages of time and the changing seasons. In Sweden there is a long tradition of painting buildings and interiors with this paint. The reason it has survived for 500 years is because it really does provide protection. Chatsworth use their highest quality Cobalt blue for all their exterior estate work. This blue will not break down and will still look just as blue in decades from now.

Painters’ Training Workshop  Thursday 5th May 9.30am – 12pm

Read more on our news page about the quality, longevity and great coverage of linseed oil paint.

OLD, RARE & BEAUTIFUL TRIBAL RUGS & TEXTILES

PRIVATE VIEW on Thursday 28th April, 7-9pm

Owen Parry is a dealer, buying and selling, restoring and conserving for collectors, decorators and dealers. He has a fine knowledge and love of the weaving traditions of nomadic tribes, enabling him to specialise in pieces of rarity and beauty which are fast disappearing from the open market. Owen started as a repairer at the respected Lannowe Restoration Studio. He had the rare opportunity to handle and work on some of the best examples of early classical pieces and top quality tribal material on the market.

Owen exhibits several times a year in London and San Francisco and is a regular exhibitor around the world: ACOR (American Conference of Oriental Rugs); ICOC (International Conference of Oriental Rugs); Hali Fair (London); Sartirana (Italy); KARMA (Kensington Rug Merchants Association, London); LARTA (London Antique Rug and Textile Arts); Arts (San Francisco). He has had several articles published in HALI magazine.

The textiles and rugs are for sale.

Image above – Peacocks on an 18th Century Ottoman silk embroidery fragment. Elegant yet whimsical drawing. Few examples now exist on the open market but some can be seen in the V & A Museum.

Ystradivarius are a group of five professional young musicians who specialise in early music and perform on period instruments –
Baroque flute, violin, viola, cello and organ continuo. They have studied at colleges such as Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Royal College of Music and Trinity College of Music and Drama.

A fascinating 18th Century musical journey between two of the greatest composers, Bach and Mozart, taking in works by all four of J.S. Bach’s composer sons (WF, CPE, JCF and JC). The Programme consists of Trio Sonatas, Flute Quartets and W.F. Bach’s haunting Adagio and Fugue in D minor.

Learn the skills of relief printing using lino or Japanese vinyl. This workshop is suitable for experienced artists who would like to take their own work into print but also for students, studying art, to add to their port folio and for people who would like to learn new skills.

Adrienne will bring plenty of images to inspire you but you can bring your own sketches and photos to work from.

‘Tony McManus is the best Celtic guitarist in the world’  John Renbourn

‘McManus’s playing is rave-worthy. Loaded with flawless ornamentations, most of which should only be attempted on a very well set-up fiddle, his playing is wild and delicate, passionate and tender’  Premier Guitar

Scots born and now Canada based, Tony McManus has come to be recognised throughout the world as the leading guitarist in Celtic Music. From early childhood his twin obsessions of traditional music and acoustic guitar have worked together to produce a startlingly original approach to this ancient art.

Through Tony’s hands the emotions of celtic music are transferred to the guitar and the listener is drawn into the driving energy of a reel or the timeless atmosphere of a lament – each finding an authentic voice through his interpretation. That emotional connection lifts McManus’s playing beyond mere virtuosity to a place where new listeners worldwide – from the Hebrides to Connemara and from Bogota to Tokyo – are won over to this music.

Whatever the context, Tony’s presence is unique and driven by a passion for the music. His engaging personality on stage has taken him to five continents, and his contribution was recently recognised with a Gold Medal, voted by the readers of Acoustic Guitar Magazine – fellow recipients were John Williams, Paco de Lucia and Tommy Emmanuel. Tony’s 2009 recording, The Makers Mark, won universal acclaim even in the rock guitar press, where jigs and reels would have been unheard of prior to its release.

Tony’s most recent album, Mysterious Boundaries, took a different path altogether, exploring the music of Bach, Couperin, Monteverdi, Satie and Granados.

Fellow guitarists were wowed! ‘This music is beyond beautiful, it’s….PERFECT’ Tommy Emmanuel. ‘It’s a masterpiece. I’m reeling’ John Renbourn

For art students and adults who want to explore printmaking or simply to try something new.

Working with experienced printmaker, Adrienne Craddock, create a drypoint etching by drawing into an acrylic plate with etching needles. Fine lines and tonal areas can be created on the plate which is then inked and printed onto dampened paper and sent through our vintage etching press.

The workshop is suitable for experienced artists who would like to take their own work into print but also for students, studying art, to add to their port folio and for people who would like to learn new skills.

Adrienne will bring plenty of images to inspire you but you can bring your own sketches and photos to work from.

Learn to read music with Lionel Elton in 6 lessons (Thursdays). This enhanced musical awareness offers a life changing experience. No previous knowledge is necessary, everything is provided.

Lionel was principal clarinettist in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales before receiving a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Later he was artistic director of the London Chamber Music Society (1986-2003). Prior to moving to Abergavenny, Lionel conducted and coached a male voice choir in Buckinghamshire and taught them all to read music in just 6 weeks.

In the near future Lionel will be offering ‘Music Appreciation’ evenings with insights into music and how to follow a score, along with music history.

Drawings, designs, paper costumes, masks, sets, sounds and the video of the final performance.

This exhibition follows a series of creative workshops for children, held every Saturday afternoon, between 14th November and 19th December, which culminated in a performance on the Winter Solstice, 22nd December 2015.

During a period of only six sessions, up to twelve children came together to explore the themes of a wild winter and the solstice. The workshops involved three artists with different disciplines: Clare Parry-Jones – costumes; Denni Dennis – movement; Leona Jones – sound. The children were therefore able to explore and focus upon their characters and the story that emerged, through visual, physical and auditory paths, engaging them in a deeply creative process.

Each artist facilitated the ideas that sprang from the imagination of each child. The artwork presented is a combination of their initial explorations and ideas for each character, their mask/face markings and costume. Clare made and painted each costume, based upon the drawings and ideas of each child, together with her own inspirations and the practicalities of the materials used: paper, muslin, leaves and plants. Denni created the choreography based upon each child’s unique movements and characterisation, bringing the story to life physically. The soundtrack ran throughout the performance and is primarily formed from the children’s voices, through stories and improvisations, woven together with additional material by Leona.

Exhibition continues until 13th February.

Robert Evans (lyre & crwth), Mary-Anne Roberts (voice) & with Gillian Stevens (crwth)

In praise of mid-winter, with bold, ritual songs, ballads and medieval poetry and a magical Arthurian episode celebrating the holly and the ivy.

‘What winter confines, spring releases, summer heats and Autumn ripens’ Boethius 16th century

Bragod is the only musical ensemble dedicated to exploring the performance of medieval and renaissance Welsh music and poetry in an historically-informed way. They sing Welsh poetry ranging from stanzas of the Gododdin (6th century) to ritual and popular songs of the 18th and 19th century. They play the six-stringed lyre of 6th century Northern Europe and the crwth, the ancient lyre of Northern Europe modified by the addition of a fingerboard and the application of the bow.

For the last 6 weeks we have held a very different kind of workshop to what we have ever done before. A small group of children of all ages have been designing, making and producing under the guidance of performance and theatre artists, Denni Dennis and Clare Parry-Jones, and sound artist, Leona Jones. The results have been truly inspiring.

Come to a Gala Performance of the culmination of all their hard work and creativity on Tuesday 22nd December. Children under 10years can come along free.

A unique opportunity to work with three professional artists and performers. A Winter Wildness is a series of creative workshops for children exploring art, movement and sound. These sessions will culminate in a magical evening performance of light and shadows, imagination and dreams celebrating the Winter Solstice.

The characters and elements of a wild winter will be brought to life through the creation of paper costumes, masks and sets, movement, words and sound. Children will have the opportunity to create each part of this process with guidance and facilitation from three artists, all supported by the Arts Council of Wales: Denni Dennis, Leona Jones and Clare Parry-Jones. They will be encouraged to explore their own imagination and ideas, as well as gleaning inspiration from established sources of material.

THE ARTISTS…

Denni Dennis – born in Denmark and now based in Wales. He trained at The Commedia School, Copenhagen. Denni has extensive training in the Jacques Lecoq style, Russian character clown and the Pochinko method (Native American spiritual clown). He combines clown, mask, dance, acting and improvisation to create unique and dynamic characters. His clown work has been featured in theatre, circus, dance performance and art installations.

Leona Jones – awarded Distinction for her Performance Writing MA from Dartington/Falmouth in 2012, and her work has been presented across Britain and Europe. Her most recent major project, The Baroque Cello Project (Part II), was successfully presented in The Chapel in June 2015, and means of developing it further are currently being explored. She is based in Cardiff. Leona explores the hardlyheard and underseen, the hidden and hiding, the conscious and the not-so-conscious in order to create events/performances and installations centred around language, sound and spatiality. Cross media collaboration is central to her practice.

Clare Parry-Jones – local artist and theatre practitioner. She performs and teaches internationally, most recently in Japan. She has also recently taught in Siberia (paper costumes and clown) and created performance land art in collaboration with sculptors and dancers in Buguldeika and Olkhon Island, Lake Baikal. Clare combines land art, performance, ritual and clown, all of which is informed by her shamanic practice and experience. She studied RADA, École Philippe Gaulier (Paris).

Gala performance Tuesday 22nd December 6.30pm, tickets £6

The local novelist, poet and playwright, Owen Sheers, will be in conversation with the political journalist, Glyn Mathias. Introduced by Eryl Sheers.

This is a fundraising event for the National Eisteddfod 2016.

Owen has just returned from 6 weeks in America and Canada publicising his new novel, ‘I Saw A Man’ published by Faber in June 2015. He is currently Professor in Creativity at Swansea University.

Owen’s parents left Abergavenny for Fiji where Owen was born and then returned to the same house in Llanddewi Rhydderch. His first poems were published when he was 16 and at 15 he won the Hay-on-Wye young writer award. Owen’s first novel, ‘Resistance’ was adapted into a film in 2011, and shot locally in the Ochon Valley. The landscape of the Abergavenny area have very much influenced his writing.

Glyn Mathias (ex Political Editor of ITN and BBC) lives in Brecon and his father was the poet, Roland Mathias. His autobiography called ‘Raising the Echo’ is a fascinating insight into TV political journalism.

Calling all artists…

Michael Harding, maker of handmade oil paints, is on a non-stop quest to meet artists directly and share his passion for quality art materials. This is a talk and demonstration geared for the artist who is interested in understanding why the quality of art materials used is important to the value of their painting, with discussions on pigments, oils, consistency, suggested uses, toxicity, safety, etc. or whatever questions you may wish to raise with Michael.

‘My paints are made by hand, using techniques which date back to the days of the Old Masters. There is a very simple reason for this painstaking process. As an artist and painter I wanted to create colours that were true and vibrant, and paint which was beautiful and durable. The greater the pigment content of a paint the greater the resistance it has to fading. Nearly all manufacturers use various fillers to extend the volume of the oil paint. It may increase profits but it compromises on quality. I totally refuse to do this. Why make something exceptional and then dilute it?’  Michael Harding

Michael has been making oil paint for nearly 35 years. Artists using his oil paint include Howard Hodgkin, ‘…this is incredible paint… the most beautiful Vermillion you can find.’ When given sap green he remarked, ‘Fantastic-it’s the same shade green as the menus they had in Paris in the 1940s…’ Clearly colours are about moments and memories for him. David Hockney describes the paint as, ‘…the first quality oil paint – excellent’ while Chris Ofili states, ‘Michael Harding’s oils are beautifully honest paints – for the beautifully honest act of painting’.

In the summer of 2009, Bristol saw a remarkable phenomenon that made international news. Over six weeks some 300,000 people queued for hours, often in pouring rain, for admission to the city’s museum & art gallery. They had been attracted by the media hype surrounding an exhibition ambiguously entitled ‘Banksy vs the Bristol Museum’. The subsequent show ‘Dismaland’ at a derelict lido in Weston-super-Mare in the summer of 2015 has attracted similar attention and caused worldwide headlines.

This illustrated talk by Paul Gough will raise a number of questions: Is Banksy a subversive influence or merely a bit of fun? Why is Banksy so important beyond the UK? Is the work important as art? What does Banksy bring to British culture as curator of international art?

After compiling a book on the impact of Banksy on the national scene, Paul Gough (Pro Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President RMIT University, Australia), has become a regular commentator on the global phenomenon of the world’s most famous unknown artist.

Come and make a spooky costume…. a fairy, ghost, witch, skeleton or evil creature for you to wear on Halloween, when you perform various antics for cake, apples, or money!

Tamsin trained in textile design at Loughborough College of Art and Design, and has worked as a costume designer and maker in film and TV. She runs her own collection of costume accessories for children called IWISHIWASA. Tamsin also teaches short courses in embellishment and customizing for clothing at Central St. Martins, London.

Age 5 +. Morning 10am – 12.30pm, afternoon 1.30 – 4pm

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to hear an inspiring talk by Dr. Jonathan Clarkson, a leading international scholar on the painter John Constable. His critically acclaimed monograph ‘Constable’ was published by Phaidon in 2010, and was named by The Sunday Times and The Telegraph as one of the best art history books of the year. Dr. Clarkson examines this complex relationship Constable had with history, and explores how his thinking developed in his later paintings.

‘John Constable presents one of the great paradoxes of art history. In his time his approach to painting was so radical that his contemporaries were almost totally baffled by it… In the 20th century, however, he became so popular that his paintings came almost to epitomise the term chocolate box. To understand this paradox, and the full extraordinary complexity and originality of this, certainly for me, greatest of all English painters (and yes including Turner) you have only to turn to a new, luminously intelligent, totally authoritative, yet highly readable introduction to Constable by Jonathan Clarkson.’     Simon Wilson, RA Royal Society of Arts magazine, Autumn 2010

‘The Songbird’ – Exquisite songs of love, passion and devotion from the courts of 17th century Italy and Purcell’s London.

A delightful programme incorporating an astonishing variety of songs and harp solos by Purcell, Blow, Eccles, Banister, Monteverdi, Luzzaschi, Caccini (daughter and father) and Frescobaldi.

This stunning duo are internationally renowned, with many years’ experience of performing and recording in all genres, but particularly in the field of Early Music. Catherine and Frances have enjoyed performing together over many years in projects with, for instance, the New London Consort, The Taverner Consort, and in Italian repertoire with Musica Secreta. Their recital programmes include performances in the Radovljica Festival in Slovenia and locally in Crickhowell. With new pieces written for them by Tansy Davies, Larisa Vrhunc, Igor Majcen and John Woolrich.

Explore the process of drypoint etching using clear acrylic sheets. By drawing, scratching and inking up you can create fine sensitive lines and dynamic tonal ranges. Processes that can be used on your kitchen table. Adrienne will bring images to inspire you or you can bring your own sketch books and drawings to work from.

Adrienne is a highly experienced artist printmaker and educator.

Materials provided. Lunch, coffee and Tea. £70

Morning age 5+/ Afternoon age 10+.

Come and create a pair of insect wings based on wildlife found in Britain’s gardens and woodlands. Make a wire skeleton wing frame on which to stretch fabric or paper. Then collage, paint, decorate, embellish, stitch and applique.

Tamsin trained in textile design at Loughborough College of Art and Design, and has worked as a costume designer and maker in film and TV. She runs her own collection of costume accessories for children called IWISHIWASA. Tamsin also teaches short courses in embellishment and customizing for clothing at Central St. Martins, London.