Peter Griggs in Concert: Music for an Old English Christmas
Trinity Episcopal Church will host internationally known guitarist/composer Peter Griggs in a concert, “Music for an Old English Christmas,” on Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 7:00 PM. Mr. Griggs will perform a selection of traditional English music associated with the Christmas season, including wassailing songs, Morris dances and ballads such as the New Year’s version of “Greensleeves”.
Wassailing songs were originally sung during the Christmas season to ensure the fertility of fields and orchards, while Morris (originally “Moorish’) dances were performed in rural England as part of traditional Twelfth Night celebrations. Mr. Griggs accompanies himself on guitar and also performs several pieces on the laud, a 12-string folk lute.
Peter Griggs has presented more than 500 solo guitar concerts throughout the USA, Germany, United Kingdom, France, the Low Countries, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe at art centers, festivals, museums, churches, jazz clubs and other venues. His recordings are available on Folkways Records, Music of the World, Treecastle Music and CD Baby. He was based for more than ten years in Düsseldorf, Germany and now resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Critics in Germany and the UK have hailed Griggs as “a master of expressive sounds” known for his “sizzling guitar playing” and “sophisticated and highly enjoyable” programs. Germany’s Bergische Morning Post put it this way: “…an almost unbelievable talent — Peter Griggs performs magic!”
A free-will offering will be received, part of which will benefit the parish ministries of Trinity Episcopal Church, Shelburne, VT.