About this concert
GreenMatthews bring you a brand-new retelling of the best-loved Yuletide adventure of them all Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
First published in 1843, the story is credited with reinventing and reinvigorating the British Christmas and has been loved and retold by every generation since. Using new lyrics and traditional English folk tunes, GreenMatthews (with special guest Jude Rees of Pilgrims' Way) use a bewitching blend of voices and instruments to create a musical retelling of this seasonal favourite.
The first half of the show presents a blend of Victorian carols and midwinter folk songs which paint a vivid and colourful picture of the festive season in Dickens' time. The second half is an hour-long 'folk opera' of his most iconic novella the tale of how flinty-hearted miser Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes several ghostly visitations over the course of a cold and bitter Christmas Eve and awakes the following morning transformed into the epitome of the Christmas spirit warm-hearted, generous and loving. This heartwarming tale is presented entirely in narrative song, using brand-new lyrics set to traditional English folk and carol melodies.
The show is the latest in a long line of similar 'folk operas' which fuse traditional song and storytelling such as Peter Bellamy's The Transports, Fairport Convention's Babbacombe Lee and of course Ewan McColl's classic Radio Ballads. Composer Chris Green says A Christmas Carol is one of those rare works of literature that has been completely assimilated into the popular consciousness. It's a tale that has been retold and reinvented by each new generation for the last 170 years, much like a classic folk song so it seemed a natural progression to retell it using traditional melodies with new words.
A Christmas Carol: A Folk Opera is the perfect show for anyone looking to recapture the simple Yuletide delights of fellowship, laughter and good cheer.
Doors open at 7.30 for an 8pm start
Show More
Find a place to stay
Upcoming concerts from similar artists
Bandsintown Merch
Circle Hat
$25.0 USD
Live Collage Sweatshirt
$45.0 USD
Rainbow T-Shirt
$30.0 USD
Circle Beanie
$20.0 USD
Easily follow all your favorite artists by syncing your music
Sync Music
Share Event
GreenMatthews Biography
Chris Green and Sophie Matthews are modern-day balladeers, specialising in telling stories through song.
GreenMatthews are firm believers in the age-old power of narrative song to delight contemporary audiences. Taking their cue from ancient troubadour tradition, they are 21st-century wandering players – touring their self-created shows extensively throughout the UK and Europe. Although their music and tales are rooted in the past, the performance is entirely of the 21st century, immediate and accessible to modern audiences.
CHRIS GREEN
Born into a musical family in Coventry, Chris began playing guitar at the age of eight and piano from the age of nine, and plays most things with fretted strings or keys. Largely self-taught, he’s worked in a variety of musical genres including folk, theatre and early music. He’s a regular musician at Shakespeare’s Globe and was also one of the musicians on BBC’s Poldark, appearing in series 1 and 2. He also writes and composes, having adapted The Wind in the Willows (2017) for GreenMatthews as well as A Christmas Carol: In Concert (2018). He has also recently released his first solo album Switched-On Playford, which fuses 17th-century dance music with electronica, using a blend of early instruments, synths and loops. He’s currently working on a new live score for the 1922 silent film Nosferatu.
www.chrisgreenmusic.co.uk
SOPHIE MATTHEWS
Sophie began playing flute at the age of ten but is now more well-known for her prowess on the English border bagpipes and has become one of the foremost players of the instrument in the UK. She also plays a variety of early woodwind instruments such as shawm, rauschpfeife and recorder. She’s also one of a handful of British players of the baroque musette, an 18th century French bagpipe similar to the Northumbrian smallpipes. Sophie is also recognised as a superb interpreter of narrative song with a clear, pure and unaffected soprano voice. When not touring with GreenMatthews, Sophie is an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society, lecturing primarily on Music in Art. Sophie also makes instruments (she made her own baroque oboe) and works with respected luthier Tony Millyard on his flutes. She’s previously worked with The Oxford Waits as well as the respected early music collective Piva. Sophie is self-taught on all of her instruments.
www.sophiematthewsmusic.co.uk
Read MoreGreenMatthews are firm believers in the age-old power of narrative song to delight contemporary audiences. Taking their cue from ancient troubadour tradition, they are 21st-century wandering players – touring their self-created shows extensively throughout the UK and Europe. Although their music and tales are rooted in the past, the performance is entirely of the 21st century, immediate and accessible to modern audiences.
CHRIS GREEN
Born into a musical family in Coventry, Chris began playing guitar at the age of eight and piano from the age of nine, and plays most things with fretted strings or keys. Largely self-taught, he’s worked in a variety of musical genres including folk, theatre and early music. He’s a regular musician at Shakespeare’s Globe and was also one of the musicians on BBC’s Poldark, appearing in series 1 and 2. He also writes and composes, having adapted The Wind in the Willows (2017) for GreenMatthews as well as A Christmas Carol: In Concert (2018). He has also recently released his first solo album Switched-On Playford, which fuses 17th-century dance music with electronica, using a blend of early instruments, synths and loops. He’s currently working on a new live score for the 1922 silent film Nosferatu.
www.chrisgreenmusic.co.uk
SOPHIE MATTHEWS
Sophie began playing flute at the age of ten but is now more well-known for her prowess on the English border bagpipes and has become one of the foremost players of the instrument in the UK. She also plays a variety of early woodwind instruments such as shawm, rauschpfeife and recorder. She’s also one of a handful of British players of the baroque musette, an 18th century French bagpipe similar to the Northumbrian smallpipes. Sophie is also recognised as a superb interpreter of narrative song with a clear, pure and unaffected soprano voice. When not touring with GreenMatthews, Sophie is an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society, lecturing primarily on Music in Art. Sophie also makes instruments (she made her own baroque oboe) and works with respected luthier Tony Millyard on his flutes. She’s previously worked with The Oxford Waits as well as the respected early music collective Piva. Sophie is self-taught on all of her instruments.
www.sophiematthewsmusic.co.uk
Acoustic
Folk
Early Music
Traditional Folk
Follow artist
Contribute
Help GreenMatthews keep making the music you love.
Support