The witch trials

A mirror to our callous hearts.

The infamous stories of the trials, torture and execution of witches are surely just abominable tales of a bygone era? Yet, with each and every unspeakable act we witness in the modern world, perhaps the Witch Trials tell us just as much about human nature today.

Music and spoken word sit alongside one another, offering an immersive reflection on the Lancashire Witch Trials of 1612. The programme gives us all a chance to grieve the senseless loss of life and confront some heavy truths while hearing some of the actual texts from the trials of 1612.

Featuring Camden Reeves’ haunting ‘Spells, Remedies & Potions’ - “think Black Sabbath and Metallica but for sopranos” - alongside music by Allegri, Byrd, Hildegard, Wainwright Johnston, and an arrangement of a 17th-Century Barbara Strozzi song by Ellie Slorach, this performance takes you on a captivating journey to a dark past and back again.

where & when

Friday 14 November 20.00 - Manchester
Royal Northern College of Music, 124 Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9RD

Saturday 15 November 15.00 - Blackburn
Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery, Museum Street, Blackburn BB1 7AJ

Sunday 16 November 17.00 - Birkenhead
Future Yard, 75 Argyle Street, Birkenhead CH41 6AB

The Music & Words

Plainchant Requiem aeternam
Hildegard von Bingen Quia ergo femina 
‘Their names were…’ 
Gregorio Allegri Miserere mei, Deus 
‘Witch Demdike’ 
Carlo Gesualdo O vos omnes 
‘Demdike: Killing by Witchcraft’ 
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi Double, Double Toil and Trouble
‘Witch Chattox’ 
Barbara Strozzi arr. Ellie Slorach Che si può fare? 
‘Chattox confesses’ 
William Byrd Ave verum corpus 
Plainchant Ave Maria 
Rory Wainwright Johnston Ave Maria 
‘The Verdict’ 
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Sicut cervus
Camden Reeves Spells, Remedies & Potions 
Carol Ann Duffy ‘The Lancashire Witches’ 
Plainchant In paradisum 
Plainchant Amen

the artists

Artistic Director Ellie Slorach