Mudlark!
a treasure hunt
Each find is a tangible connection to the past, a fragment of someone's life …
- Lara Maiklem
Dear Friends,
We have been busy putting together a brand new concert programme: MUDLARK! We’ve performed it twice already and are thrilled with the response. Our listeners seemed to relate to the ideas and were happy to go treasure hunting with us. Like the river itself, nothing is permanent, and so we will be fine-tuning the programme here and there, depending on what the tide will bring. And just as mudlarks scour the banks of the tidal river for fragments of London's past, well-trained in the art of seeking, so do we unearth forgotten sounds, uncover hidden connections, and shape each performance with discoveries along the way.
Our violinist Rebecca is the creative spirit behind this project, fascinated by the history of mudlarking for some time and inspired by a recent book by Lara Maiklem: Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames.
Here are Rebecca’s thoughts:
“I’m a bit of a magpie and have always been attracted to treasure hunting. As a child I loved to forage in the woods, I’m often found deep in the stacks of second-hand bookshops, and I’ve always been one to pick up a lucky penny in the street. While I’ve never been mudlarking on the Thames, it would be a dream to go down to the foreshore and see what washes up.
With MUDlark!, I created a programme that tells an alternative English history, one told by the fragments of everyday lives, the ideas that come from afar, and the question marks that come from a city that’s been around as long as London. As Jan said to me once, London is an important place for people. I wanted the programme to celebrate not only the beauty but also the randomness, the crooked edges and the reinvention that are part of our collective story.”
MUDlark! is a cabinet of curiosities, thieveries, and musical mysteries from the English Baroque and beyond, with music by Purcell, Playford, Hume, Handel, Coprario, Gibbons, Byrd, and other treasures.
Do keep an eye on our diary - and we’ll be sure to let you know about upcoming mudlarking adventures! And if you'd like to hear this programme near you, let us know—we'd love to bring a concert to a venue close by!
See you soon,
Rebecca, Jan and Oliver John
PS and here is a little taster
The Thames is England's longest archaeological site … - Lara Maiklem