Where can you hear a kaleidoscope of popular songs from the 16th and 20th centuries sung and played by top-notch musicians?

Well, at the Courtenay Centre in Newton Abbot, where on the April 19 when  Fair Oriana, two glorious sopranos, will do just that

Their ‘Eliza is the Fairest Queen’ accompanied by lute, guitar and percussion will transport listeners to a different world. ‘Agile, clear and beautiful...their voices are ideally suited’ so claims Leo Duarte of Opera Settecento.

Singing is very much Fair Oriana’s passion. Delighting audiences is another.

For this concert, they will bring together songs from the reigns of two great queens: Elizabeth I and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Fair Oriana like inject a contemporary twist into their historical music-passion, making their concerts an innovative blend of both past and present. The two singers have a very natural rapport on stage, a love of musical creativity and ornamentation, and a mutual penchant for doing things a bit different.

Amid a host of other composers, Thomas Morley, John Dowland and John Bennet will share the platform with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Irving Berlin and Duke Ellington. The concert will feature songs of shepherds, blackbirds, lilies, seasons, dancing and, of course, love. The 20th century songs will be sung as we’ve never heard them - in Tudor style and with Tudor instruments.

Formed in 2019, Fair Oriana have very quickly made a name for themselves. Described as "pure vocal beauty "by Classic FM, Fair Oriana are a soprano duo known for the purity of their voices and trade-mark blend. They specialise in singing historical repertoire, and, in collaboration with regular teams of instrumentalists, perform chamber concerts with a hint of theatre. Additionally, both singers pursue busy solo careers and freelance with some of UK's most renowned vocal and instrumental ensembles.

Fair Oriana has enthralled audiences in concert series across the United Kingdom and abroad, including the Three Choirs Festival, the Ryedale Festival, Sherborne Abbey Festival, the AMIA Festival in Strasbourg and Resonanzen Festival (Vienna). Their ability to construct performances that bring together solos, duets, instrumental music, and spoken word make them a versatile act. Their debut album ‘Two Voices’, released in 2021, is an intimate collection of English chamber music from Renaissance to Baroque. 

The 7.30pm concert will also feature some of Fair Oriana’s commissioned works, which means Nadsa concerts will finish its 77th Season with something really different: a mix of Tudor and 20th century gems with a pinch of very recent spice.

All tickets for the 7.30pm concert on April 19 must be booked in advance through the society’s website at www.nadsa.co.uk.