SONGS AND STORIES
PROGRAMME
The 2026 programme features a rich line-up of international and UK-based artists, including Finnish ensemble Gamut!, making their Welsh debut (10 May), the acclaimed Linarol Consort of Viols with soprano Héloïse Bernard (8 May), and the vocal ensemble Bruegel Consort in a major late-medieval Marian programme (9 May).
Resident ensemble The Vale Consort opens the festival (6 May), with further performances from The Fountain Singers (9 May), and a free family storytelling concert, offering audiences a diverse journey through sacred and secular music, myth, and storytelling across the medieval and Renaissance worlds (10 May).
Complementing this is a pre-festival cross-cultural event (25 April), Early Voices Connections, bringing together renowned storytellers Cath Little and Angharad Wynne with Indian classical singer Amruta Garud and festival director Anna Cristoni-Apel to celebrate the divine feminine, blending medieval Western music, Indian classical traditions, Welsh folk song, chant, poetry, and storytelling.
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FULL LINE UP
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Saturday 25 April– St Illtyd’s, Llantwit Major – 7:30pm
EV Connections
Ave Eva Durga - Storytelling and music with Cath Little, Angharad Wynne, Amruta Garud and Anna Cristoni-Apel
Intercultural collaboration linking Western, Indian, and medieval traditions.
A weaving of myth, song, poetry, and storytelling celebrating the feminine principle across cultures.
Tickets £13 – U16 free
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Wednesday 6 May– St Illtyd’s, Llantwit Major – 7:00pm
The Vale Consort
A Measure of Love - Secular madrigals in various languages, with voices and period instruments (bass viol, lute, and portative organ).
Tickets £13 – U16 free
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Friday 8 May– St Illtyd’s, Llantwit Major – 7:30pm
Linarol Consort of Viols with Héloise Bernard (soprano)
Epitaph for a Green Lover - The remarkable story of Margaret of Austria, one of the 16th century’s greatest patrons of the arts, through music from her own manuscripts.
Tickets £16 – U16 free
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Saturday 9 May – Holy Cross Church, Cowbridge– 2.30pm
Fountain Singers
The Playful Renaissance - Secular Italian and English songs accompanied by lute and portative organ, uncovering the Renaissance at its most mischievous.
Tickets £13 – U16 free
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Saturday 9 May– Holy Cross Church, Cowbridge– 6.30pm
Bruegel Consort
Lily of Eternal Praise: A Life of the Virgin Mary - A programme that paints a colourful portrait of the extravagant and expressive musical devotions to the Virgin Mary prevalent in late-medieval England.
Tickets £16 – U16 free
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Sunday 10 May– St Illtyd’s, Llantwit Major – 3:00pm
Family Event - Cath Little (storyteller) and Anna Cristoni-Apel (Early-Music specialist)
The Lady of Ogmore Down - A story of courage, determination and fairness.
Free event with retiring collection
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Sunday 10 May– St Illtyd’s, Llantwit Major – 7:00pm
Ensemble Gamut! (Finland)
Aino Peltomaa voice, medieval harp, percussion
Juho Myllylä blockflutes, vocals
Marco Ambrosini nyckelharpa
'RE' – Finding the truth about an ancient murder mystery.
Tickets £17 (U16 free)
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Festival pass – all concerts £65 (EV Connections is excluded)
Cowbridge day pass – £25 for both concerts
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Check the pages of the individual events and the posts on social media for more detail!​​​​