St. Martin in the Fields

Despite walking past it countless times since moving to London – the last occasion being just 2 days ago on the way to the National Portrait Gallery – I’d never actually been inside St. Martin in the Fields before today. Not much of a church-goer, you might say. But the tempting offer of a free lunchtime concert drew me in…

I wasn’t the only one. The first person I saw upon entering St. M in the F was an inebriate who was being very gently coaxed out of the door by the vicar. I then walked past someone hunched over in the pews (were they passed out or praying?), before the man in front of me tripped over… But that may just have been because he was old.

I found a seat nearish the front and settled in for the concert. Today’s recital was given by Cambridge Song Prize Winners Dominic Sedgwick and James Henshaw. Dominic (a baritone, the program informs me) and James (the pianist) performed Three Salt-Water Ballads followed by Dichterliebe Op 24… The former being just under 10 minutes of energetic little numbers revolving around the life of a sailor, and the latter being a cycle of songs from Heinrich Heine’s Lyrisches Intermezzo.

Dominic’s voice was fantastic, accompanied by faultless piano from James. Unfortunately the Salt Water Ballads were a little… Well… Gilbert & Sullivan for me. I don’t know if it’s because the words were being peppered out like machine gun fire, or simply the fact that they were in English, but I couldn’t help thinking that they sounded a little… Show tune-y. No offence, Dom.

The thing about choral numbers is that they always sound a bit better if they’re in another language. I had absolutely not the foggiest idea what Dichterliebe (performed, unsurprisingly, in German) was about, which meant I could just listen to the music and stare around at the beautiful surroundings. St. M in the F is the sort of ornately gilded house of worship of which I thoroughly approve.

For 35 minutes I sat quietly enjoying the music and feeling incredibly high brow. Then a baby a couple of rows behind me made a hilarious gurgling noise and I dissolved into giggles. Not that high brow then. I recovered myself just in time for the final bars of Dichterliebe and the ensuing rapturous applause. Quick encore and then done. All in under an hour.

As I wandered out, I noticed that the man was still praying; stooped over in the last row of pews. Perhaps he too had been moved by Dominic Sedgwick’s soaring baritone. Different performers play every Monday, Tuesday and Friday at St. Martin in the Fields (see the website for more details)… If they’re all as talented as Messrs Sedgwick and Henshaw, that’s a thrice weekly treat.

Cheapskate rating:            

6/10

High brow. Low cost.

Additional notes:

There’s a suggested donation of £3.50 for each performance.

Check out the back window of the church. It’s lush.

Got Google maps?: WC2N 4JH

Nearest tube: Leicester Square (4 mins), Charing Cross (3 mins) or Embankment (6 mins)

Buses: 24, 29, 176 (plus loads more, check TFL for more details)

Overground: Charing Cross (3 mins)

Website: http://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org