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07th Mar 2011The Faerie Queene
Edmund Spenser's work is the great epic poem of Elizabethan England, complex and brilliant, revealing both the spiritual energy and the dark intolerance of his age. -
This event provided an insight into The Faerie Oueene and Spenser’s world view, and a thought provoking exploration of his continuing relevance in the 21st Century.
It featured:
David Fuller, Professor of English and former Orator of Durham University, taking us inside the remarkable world of Spenser’s stanza.
Bart Van Es, of St Catherine’s College Oxford, an eminent scholar of Spenser, on the significance of The Faerie Queene.
New verse by distinguished poets Jo Shapcott, Michael Symmons-Roberts, Andrew Shanks, and Ewan Fernie.
Monawar Hussain, Islamic chaplain at Eton College, on the resonances of The Faerie Queen in Muslim communities.
Original drama piece by Simon Palfrey, directed by Elisabeth Dutton, both of Oxford University, performed by an ensemble of professional actors, Oxford students, and inner-city comprehensive schoolchildren.
Composer and virtuoso Tim Garland, played his own specially commissioned music inspired by The Faerie Queene.
And, the celebrated Choir of Royal Holloway, University of London, conducted by Rupert Gough, performed music from the time of Spenser.
The Faerie Queene event was held in partnership with 'The Faerie Queene Now Project', a year long collaboration celebrating the legacy of Edmund Spenser's work, with a generous grant from the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme, and support tor the music from the PRS for Music Foundation and LCACE.
Interviews conducted by Julija Gulbinovic and Melanie Roberts with Andrew Shanks, Simon Palfrey, Bart Van Es and David Fuller can be found on the event audio page