On September 23, visitors to the Southbank Centre will have the chance to live through the elevated status of the tavern, and get a feel for the 17th Century Alehouses through the means of music. Image: Theresa Pewal Speaking on the project, Bjarte Eike said: “The signature of this project is the interaction on stage between the players and the audience. It must have been an incredible atmosphere in these places – overflowing with music, alcohol, sex, gossip, fights, fumes, shouting, singing, laughing, dancing… not unlike our live versions of the Alehouse Sessions. It was this idea which acted as the catalyst for creating the Alehouse Sessions, which has now caught the keen eye of filmmaker Dominic Best, who will be bringing us to your screens on BBC4 on Sunday 23 April. To reach this entrance, enter the Royal Festival Hall via the Southbank Centre Square Doors. Take the JCB Glass Lift to Level 2 and exit to the Riverside Terrace. Turn right to find the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance.

For step-free access from the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road off Belvedere Road to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating (excluding rows A to C) and wheelchair spaces in the Rear Stalls, plus Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer and the Purcell Room, please use the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance. My masters, are you mad?… Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night? Do ye make an ale-house of my lady’s house, that ye squeak your cozier’s catches without any mitigation or remorse of voice?” Civil war/CommonwealthFor access to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating rows A to C and wheelchair spaces in the Front Stalls, please enter via the Artists' Entrance in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road (Level 1).

The pub has since the earliest of times been the English people’s second home. The establishments can be divided into three categories: the inns, taverns and alehouses (later known as public houses). In these establishments one would meet to eat, drink, and sleep, but, especially after 1660, one would also hold political meetings, feasts, balls, concerts, gambling events, flower shows etc .. and of course, these houses were the main venues for the extreme consumption of alcohol in the 17th century¹. Samuel Pepys is also notoriously known for his fondness of alcohol. In his diaries, he’s listing all kinds of favourite drinks like ale, cider, beer, brandy, all sorts of wines and mixed drinks like posset, butter beer, hippocras etc². one place in Berkshire, England it has been recorded that between 1611 and 1618 an average of 6 to 8 pints of beer were consumed per person – every day

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With the re-instatement of the monarchy and Charles II in 1660, everything changed for the musicians in London. Charles was a music-lover and re-opened theatres. He re-instated church musicians and wanted his own orchestra. But the King constantly had to deal with the never-ending fights between catholic and protestant, Whig and Tory, city and court – and also with the Parliament that kept a very close eye on the country’s economy – so he simply couldn’t afford to offer full-time employment for artists, musicians, dancers, actors etc. Music became enormously popular in 17th- and 18th century London, yet there were no orchestras that offered steady jobs. This meant that London was bulging with freelance musicians. Musicians, that at one time are sitting amongst beer-glasses and a loud audience playing in one of the informal and highly popular concerts in one of the many Taverns and alehouses, and the next participating in one of the large charity concerts, before rushing off to join one of the opera performances at operas like the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket. Between May and September, which was outside of the opera- and theatre season, one could find these musicians playing in one of the Pleasure Gardens - huge outdoor events with music.

Anyway, in case you were wondering if we were just a bunch of males with a mid-life crisis, we also have a gorgeous cameo appearance from soprano Mary Bevan singing irresistible Purcell.I launched the project in 2007, as a concert-form where the music found in the English public-houses during and after the Commonwealth was explored. It was an immediate success and has gained popularity with audiences and promoters within a wide field of music. Ever since 2007, the project has been in constant development. Music-making during the period of the Civil wars and Commonwealth was therefore largely divided between those who “chose to fiddle at home” (either in their own home or in the homes of the Gentlemen that could afford to employ them) and those professional musicians forced to make a living playing in taverns and alehouses. The Alehouse Sessions – curated and devised by Bjarte Eike – is an ever changing and evolving insight into the music of the English 17th Century tavern. It gives audiences a window into this tumultuous period through Purcell overtures, English sea shanties, and Scandinavian folk songs thrown in for good measure.

From Alehouse to Playhouse Bjarte Eike and his barnstorming Barokksolistene capture the vital spark of Restoration London’s entertainment scene with a captivating new recording for Rubicon Classics! The Playhouse Sessions will be released on 23 September 2022 to coincide with Barokksolistene’s concert double-bill at London’s Southbank Centre. This diversion from the traditional concert model is what is at the heart of the Sessions. Through the medium of these well-loved tunes, a story of the period is interwoven into the music making; creating a unique environment between audience and performer. Bjarte Eike goes into detail about what makes this special: Talk to a member of staff at the auditorium entrance if you have a disability that means you can’t queue, or you need extra time to take your seat. They can arrange priority entry for you as soon as the doors open. In this exclusive video clip to The Strad,Norwegian violinist and the Barokksolistene perform Wallom Green from The Alehouse Sessions. First an album from 2017 as well as a series of performances, The Alehouse Sessionshas now been turned into a film for television, to be broadcast on BBC Four on 23 April. Eike and Barokksolistene bring the camaraderie of the period, the artistry and the connection between musicians and the audience to life in this production, filmed on location at Battersea Arts Centre and The George Inn, Southwark.Using their own arrangement of the tunes, these ‘Alehouse Boys’ combine this unique format with humor, an unrivalled virtuosity and flare for improvisation.