Stour Music - Festival of Early Music in East Kent

STOUR

MUSIC

FESTIVAL of

EARLY MUSIC

in EAST KENT

19-28 June 2026

Founded in 1962 by counter-tenor Alfred Deller, the festival takes place over two

weekends in late June in the beautiful medieval church of All Saints' Boughton Aluph,

set in the heart of the Kent countryside overlooking the Stour valley.

Details of the 2026 Festival Programme will be available from early April 2026. If you would like to become a Friend and enjoy priority booking, click here.

‘A pilgrim destination for connoisseurs of early music.’ BBC Music Magazine

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Dear Stour Friends

It's exactly a month since we finished the 2025 festival - with rousing Mendelssohn and Wesley (that was rather special). So many things to remember - captured beautifully on camera by Kate Beaugié (and others) and now visible in the 2025 Gallery below.

We had plenty of youth: Gesualdo Six and Apollo's Cabinet kicking off the first Friday. Iestyn Davies had kindly given up his Glyndebourne day off to mark Gibbons' anniversary with Fretwork. We couldn't believe how he sang so softly with the viols! I Fagiolini split into four to bring us Roman multi-choir music not heard in the last few hundred years and throughout that first weekend the north German wind band - Hanse Pfeyfferey - fanfared us on shawm, slide trumpet and sackbut as you got out of your cars, but also at several school workshops and even from the top of Wye church.

The weather held for weekend two. Solomon's Knot did not disappoint with their deeply dramatic J.S. & J.C.Bach, but what a contrast to follow this with the deeply moving (dare I say surprisingly moving?) medieval singing of Clemence Niclas. Never has Machaut sounded so new. More French repertoire on Saturday - really some of the best French Baroque singing I've ever heard (famously difficult to do well) followed by Fireworks and two jazz groups before the rip-roaring Mendelssohn with a full cast on the Sunday.

I'm deep into planning next year at the moment but do keep the last two weekends of June safely in your diary - and prepare to bring some chums with you!

Best wishes,

Robert Hollingworth - Artistic Director

STOUR MUSIC 2025 — GALLERY

Hanse Pfeyfferey

Fretwork and Iestyn Davies

George Clark, Eleonore Cockerham & Robert Hollingworth

Stour Festival Chorus

Mark Deller & Robert Hollingworth

ApotropaïK

Solomon’s Knot

Hanse Pfeyfferey

Hanse Pfeyfferey at Wye

I Fagiolini

Alastair Hume

Hanse Pfeyfferey & I Fagiolini

Iestyn Davies

Iestyn Davies &

Robert Hollingworth

Fretwork & Iestyn Davies

The Gesualdo Six

Hanse Pfeyfferey

Apollo's Cabinet

Robert Hollingworth

The Gesualdo Six

The Opera Company / Saraband

Photographs by Kate Beaugié

Download 2025 Brochure

A History by Mark Deller

Programme Archive

STOUR MUSIC

The Stour Music Festival is a festival of early music held in the Stour valley, Kent, England. It was founded by the countertenor Alfred Deller in 1962 and is now held over two consecutive weekends in June. The principal venue is a stunning medieval flint church, All Saints' Church, Boughton Aluph. The current Festival Director is Robert Hollingworth.

Watch 60th Anniversary Video

All Saints' Boughton Aluph — 2019

MAILING LISTS

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on our contact page.

If you would like to receive a hard copy of the next Festival brochure by post when it is available, please send your name and address to

General Mailing Secretary, 87 Bridge Street,

Wye, Ashford, TN25 5ED

(07976 354683; friends@stourmusic.org.uk).

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