Erda Ensemble: Marta Fontanals-Simmons (mezzo soprano) with Olivia Jageurs (harp) and Chloe Vincent (flute)

Part of the Roman River Festival 2025 - See all concerts here.

Join us for an evening of relaxing and inspirational music by candlelight in the warm embrace of Wivenhoe's St Mary's church - the velvet voice of mezzo-soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons, accompanied by flutist Chloë Vincent, and harpist Olivia Jageurs, taking you on a compelling exploration of sound, mood, and storytelling across centuries with a richly varied and mellow programme weaving together folk traditions, contemporary works, and lyrical reflection.

This concert promises to be a huge treat from the moment that the nostalgic simplicity of Vaughan Williams' Greensleeves, given new colour through sensitive instrumentation, sets the tone of the evening. Most of the other pieces will be new to our audience, as they are to us, as we enjoy a repertoire that spans nearly a millennium, tracing cultural and creative threads through diverse musical landscapes.

Opening with Vaughan Williams’ arrangement of Greensleeves, a traditional English melody often linked to Tudor myth, the programme roots itself in nostalgia and national identity—recalling a romanticized England amidst 20th-century upheaval. Three Ancient Irish Poems by Ina Boyle, a pioneering Irish composer marginalized in her lifetime, reflect a revival of Celtic cultural heritage during the early 20th century’s search for national voice. Robert Peate’s Suite for Harp and Tyto Alba (evoking the ghostly barn owl) and Tayla-Leigh Payne’s new commission demonstrate how contemporary composers continue to explore natural and emotional themes through chamber textures. Anna Meredith’s Fin Like a Flower brings her characteristic genre-blurring style, while Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s Vocalise and Judith Weir’s Fragile (in a new transcription) explore the body’s limits and the voice’s delicacy. Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea II (inspired by Melville’s Moby-Dick and environmentalism) reflects political concern for nature. 

After the interval, Hildegard von Bingen’s O Virtus Sapientiae reaches back to the medieval mysticism of one of the earliest known female composers, while Amy Beach’s Ecstasy and Anne Boyd’s Bali Moods offer romantic and cross-cultural perspectives. Finally, we return to Vaughan Williams and his Four Last Songs which provide a poignant meditation on love and mortality—deeply human themes that bind this programme across time and place.

                              ***

Mezzo-soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons, flutist Chloë Vincent, and harpist Olivia Jageurs hit it off while performing Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at the Roman River Festival in 2021, discovering a shared passion for story-telling and reviving neglected works for their unusual combinations of instruments. They were invited back to perform their first concert as the Erda Ensemble at the Roman River Festival the following year. 

They remain constant innovators, arranging repertoire to suit their forces alongside performing music not yet published, as well performing new works by living composers. They have recently appeared on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and BBC News. Recent and upcoming engagements include performances at Leeds Song Festival, Presteigne Festival, Debenham Chamber Music Festival, Music at Malling and the University of Manchester Concert Series as well as performing world premieres by Taylor-Leigh Payne and James Francis Brown.

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, Olivia has performed with major UK orchestras, including the London Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and is renowned for her versatility across classical, contemporary, and commercial music.. She founded the innovative online concert series Harpy Hour and the harp-writing initiative 15 Second Harp, which was shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in 2017. Chloë's diverse career spans orchestral, chamber, and commercial music; she has performed with ensembles like the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra as well as with Billie Eilish at the BRIT Awards and The Who at Wembley Stadium. British-Spanish mezzo-soprano Marta is acclaimed for her rich, expressive, "velvet" voice. She has performed at the Royal Opera House, Teatro Real, and Glyndebourne Festival. Notable roles include Siébel (Faust), Hel (The Monstrous Child), and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro). She is also a trustee of the Jackdaws Music Education Trust.

PROGRAMME

Anon arr. Vaughan Williams Greensleeves
Ina Boyle 3 Ancient Irish Poems: Eve’s Lament; Lament for Youth; Winter Song
Robert Peate Suite for harp (slow movement)
Anna Meredith Fin Like A Flower
Tayla-Leigh Payne New Commission for Presteigne Festival Aug 25
Cheryl Frances Hoad Vocalise
Takemitsu Toward the Sea II

Interval

Hildegard Von Bingen O Virtus Sapientiae
Amy Beach Ecstasy
Judith Weir (trans. Gabriella Jones) Fragile
Anne Boyd Bali Moods
Robert Peate Tyto Alba
Paul Reader Kitchen Garden Suite
Vaughan Williams 4 Last Songs: (Hands, Eyes, Heart; Procris; Menelaus; Tired

Duration: approx. 1 hour 30 mins (incl. 20-minute interval)

Marta Fontanals-Simmons | mezzo-Soprano
Olivia Jageurs | harp
Chloe Vincent | flute

Tickets £20 – £30 (£15 for under 30s)

Reduced visibility seats available.