Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music

TOLEDO A Festival of Spanish Music 20–25 May 2017 The Tallis Scholars | Ex Cathedra Musica Antigua | La Grande Chapelle Orphénica Lyra | Soledad Cardoso Clara Mouriz | Carlos Bonell

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Illustrations. Front cover: Toledo, bridge and cathedral, mezzotint c. 1920 by Fred Milland, after a painting c.

1900 by Henry Charles Brewer (1866–1950).

Above: Toledo, 20th-century etching.

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TOLEDO A Festival of Spanish Music

20–25 May 2017

Contents The festival package.......................................................5 Speakers..........................................................................5 The Concerts............................................................. 6–9 Hotels & Prices...................................................... 10–11 Extra meals...................................................................10 Travelling to Toledo....................................................12 Optional visits..............................................................12 Fitness; independent or group travel?......................12 Pre-festival tours: Gastronomic Valencia....................................... 13–14 The Douro.......................................................... 15–16 The Heart of Spain............................................ 17–18 Art in Madrid.................................................... 19–20 Booking form and conditions............................. 21–23

Seven private concerts of music associated with the historic city of Toledo performed in beautiful and appropriate buildings.

Wide ranging programme: Sephardic, Moorish, Christian as well as music from Latin America and 20th-century Spain.

Musicians of the highest calibre from Britain and Spain, including The Tallis Scholars, Ex Cathedra, Orphénica Lyra, Musica Antigua, and soloists Carlos Bonell, Soledad Cardoso and Clara Mouriz.

Professor Owen Rees and Professor Richard Langham Smith talk about the music, Dr Xavier Bray and Gijs van Hensbergen about art and history.

Suits independent-minded travellers as well as those who like the social aspect of these events.

Time to explore Toledo, optional guided visits to key buildings, excursion to the Palacio de Aranjuez.

Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017

Spain was the dominant power in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and her musical life gloriously reflected that status. Whatever the causes of Spain’s subsequent slippage from the centre of European affairs, the twin facts are that, first, some of the finest Renaissance and Baroque music is Spanish and, second, much of this heritage remains unknown.

Toledo makes an incomparable place in which to hear this music. The Old Hispanic or Mozarabic Rite – characteristically Iberian and distinct from the Roman liturgical rites that replaced it elsewhere – survives in Toledo and at its Cathedral. During the Renaissance the Catedral Primada Santa María de Toledo maintained a prodigious musical establishment of singers, organists and wind-players (ministriles), befitting its status as the primatial church of Spain. The chapel masters of the Cathedral during this golden age included Cristóbal de Morales (during the 1540s), Bernardino de Ribera (1560s) and Alonso Lobo (at the end of the century), and the cathedral’s Renaissance music manuscripts constitute the richest collection in Spain.

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Toledo displays the masonry residue of a greater mix of peoples and civilizations than perhaps any other city in the world. Capital of Visigothic, Islamic and (from 1085) Christian states, it was a wealthy, sophisticated and tolerant centre which attracted a large and cosmopolitan population.

The Jewish community here was one of the most important in Europe; a concert of Sephardic music in one of the city’s synagogues contributes to the festival’s diverse programme.

The repertoire is broadened further with Latin American baroque performed in the monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, which was built by the Catholic Monarchs who authorised and financed the 1492 expedition of Christopher Columbus. An excursion to the Royal Palace at Aranjuez is complemented by a concert featuring Rodrigo’s 1939 Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar.

Music is but one of the ingredients in what promises to be a magical few days. We are accompanied by three expert lecturers who introduce the music, art and history through a series of morning talks.

The festival package Access to the concerts is exclusive to those who take the festival package, the price for which includes:

Festival staff will be present to facilitate the smooth running of the event. All speak Spanish.

Flights between the UK and Madrid from London Heathrow or Gatwick airports.

Programme booklet. Every participant is issued with a booklet which contains information about the itinerary, the concerts and all the arrangements.

Seven concerts. Tickets to individual events will not be available.

Hotel accommodation for five or six nights.

Coach transfers between Madrid airport and the hotels. If you book your own flights, you can join these transfers if your flights coincide with one of the festival flight options.

See pages 10–11 for prices.

In addition, there are extra services which can be booked: A range of visits and short walks led by art historians and appropriate experts. See page 12.

Meals. All breakfasts and three dinners with wine, water, coffee.

Drinks are provided during concert intervals.

A package of an extra two dinners, which means each evening is spent in the company of other festival participants. See page 12.

Lectures on the music by Professor Owen Rees and Professor Richard Langham Smith, and on the art and history of Toledo by Gijs van Hensbergen and Dr Xavier Bray.

Pre-festival tours. There are four to choose from: The Douro, Art in Madrid, The Heart of Spain or Gastronomic Valencia. See pages 13–20 for details.

All tips for restaurant staff, drivers, porters etc.

All taxes and obligatory charges. (We do not surcharge.)

The Speakers Dr Xavier Bray. Art historian specialising in Spanish art and sculpture. He is currently Chief Curator of Dulwich Picture Gallery where his recent exhibitions include Murillo & Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship. Former posts include Assistant Curator of 17th- and 18th-century European paintings at the National Gallery where he recently returned to curate the highly acclaimed Goya: The Portraits. In Autumn 2016 he becomes Director of the Wallace Collection.

Illustration, opposite: Toledo, Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, lithograph c. 1850.

Above, left to right: Professor Owen Rees, Professor Richard Langham Smith, Gijs van Hensbergen, Dr Xavier Bray.

Shortly after its capital status had been lost to Madrid, El Greco (1541–1614) arrived in Toledo (from Crete by way of Venice and Rome) and during his forty years here fulfilled innumerable commissions. Many of his incandescent and spiritually charged paintings remain in situ. Optional visits with an art historian allow for detailed study of his works.

Crammed onto the crown of a river-girt promontory, Toledo is an enchanting, compact city, its population a quarter of what it was in the Middle Ages. The countryside begins at the foot of the mighty circuit of city walls, the green, undulating plain of La Mancha, playground of Don Quixote.

The combination of major architecture and great works of art with the unspoilt and almost deserted backstreets and byways make a stay here deeply rewarding.

This brochure was produced in house. The text was written and edited by Sophie Wright, Martin Randall and Sean Newsome. Some of the musicians also contributed.

The brochure itself was designed by Jo Murray. It went to print on 18th July 2016.

Gijs van Hensbergen. Art historian and author specialising in Spain and the USA. His books include Gaudí, In the Kitchens of Castile, Guernica and most recently La Sagrada Familia: el paraíso terrenal de Gaudí. He read languages at Utrecht University and Art History at the Courtauld, and undertook postgraduate studies in American art of the 1960s. He has worked in England, the USA and Spain as exhibitions organiser, TV researcher and critic and is a Fellow of the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies at the LSE. Professor Richard Langham Smith. Writer and broadcaster with a particular interest in French, Spanish and Catalan music. He has published widely on Debussy and Bizet in particular. His musical training was at the University of York and the Amsterdam Conservatory and he is currently Research Professor at the Royal College of Music. He was made a Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres for his reconstruction of an unpublished opera by Debussy on the subject of the teenage Spanish warrior known as El Cid. Professor Owen Rees. Fellow and tutor in music at The Queen’s College, Oxford University, director of the college chapel choir and the professional ensemble Contrapunctus. He specialises in the music of Spain and Portugal from the fifteenth to the midseventeenth centuries. He has broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4 and released CD recordings on the Hyperion, Herald Guild and Unicor Kanchana labels to high critical acclaim. His published studies include work on the Spanish composers Cristóbal de Morales and Francisco Guerrero.

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Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017

The Concerts

Convento de Santo Domingo el Antiguo Music from the time of El Greco

Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes Baroque Music from Latin America: Fire Burning in Snow

La Grande Chapelle | Albert Recasens director

Ex Cathedra | Jeffrey Skidmore director

The musical tradition of Toledo cathedral at the time of El Greco was one of the most magnificent of Spain. This programme includes works dedicated to the Virgin Mary, evoking one of the spectacular Toledan festivities, the Immaculate Conception, when voices and instruments join together to create wonderful polyphony. The music featured was either written by chapel masters of the cathedral (Andrés de Torrentes, Ginés de Boluda, Alonso Lobo and Alonso de Tejeda) or found in books acquired by the Chapter that include works by Francisco Guerrero, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Juan Navarro, Philippe Rogier, Bernardino de Ribera and Rodrigo Ceballos.

‘For fire burning in snow is the effect of love’. The final line of Juan de Araujo’s Dime, amor gives this concert its title and conjures up the passion and dramatic contrasts which make it such a delight. Araujo (1646–1712) has been described by many commentators as the greatest Latin American composer of the age, although much of his output is only rarely performed. His music is rhythmically arresting and wonderfully evocative with much indigenous imagery.

La Grande Chapelle is a superb Spanish vocal and instrumental early music ensemble that applies new interpretations to the great vocal works of the 16th to 18th centuries, in particular Baroque polyphony. They also focus on reviving forgotten works from the Spanish repertoire. Under the directorship of Albert Recasens, they have won numerous national and international awards for their recordings.

Santo Domingo el Antiguo is a Cistercian convent, founded in 1085 after Toledo’s recapture from the Moors. But it’s probably much older than that, dating back to the 6th century, when Toledo was the seat of Visigothic kings. The church was rebuilt in the 16th century, and possesses an altarpiece by El Greco. His first major commission in Spain after his arrival from Rome, it’s understandable from its quality why the work brought the Cretan master instant celebrity. El Greco himself is buried here.

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With a repertoire that reaches from the 12th to the 21st centuries, Ex Cathedra is one of the UK’s leading choral and Early Music ensembles. They are known for their passion for seeking out the best, the unfamiliar and the unexpected in the choral repertoire, and for giving dynamic performances which are underpinned by detailed research. The group has received rapturous acclaim for their interpretations of the exuberant Latin American Baroque repertoire.

Austere on the outside, flamboyant within, the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes was founded by the all-conquering ‘Catholic Kings’, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, who united Spain in the 15th century. Built to celebrate their defeat of Alfonso V of Portugal in 1476, it was originally intended as their mausoleum too, which explains the richness of the decoration and the unusually spacious layout. Its double-height cloister is the prettiest in the city, and is planted with myrtle, cypress, orange, and pomegranate.

Sinagoga del Tránsito The Golden Age of Sephardic music

Sinagoga de Santa María la Blanca Memories of Spain

Musica Antigua | Eduardo Paniagua director

Clara Mouriz mezzo-soprano

Close Arabic-Jewish interaction in Spain in the 10th and 11th centuries led to a flourishing Jewish culture and the production of poetry and literature in Hebrew, both sacred and secular. Muslim Spain became known for its poets, musicians and instrumentalists and for every event there was a song or piece of music. While the melodies have not survived, emotive themes from the AndalusianMagreb tradition are used to revive these ancient texts.

This concert features Spanish song from the late-19th and early20th centuries, accompanied by guitar.

Eduardo Paniagua is a pioneer in the performance of mediaeval music in Spain, dedicating himself to projects related to its three cultural heritages: Christian, Muslim and Jewish. He is joined by three singers and two instrumentalists (laud, salterio (zither), flutes and percussion).

There were once ten synagogues in Toledo – testament to the city’s religious tolerance before the Inquisition. El Tránsito is one of two that remain. It was built 1360–66 by Samuel Ha-Levi Abulafia, treasurer to King Pedro the Cruel, and is a simple galleried hall, made magical by its decoration. The raised stucco frieze bears comparison with the decoration in the Alhambra in Granada, and survived the building’s 400-year stint as a church as well as some rough treatment by Napoleon’s army.

Spanish born Clara Mouriz is rapidly establishing herself as one of the most exciting mezzo-sopranos of her generation, performing both opera and song. She made her debut at Wigmore Hall in 2007 and has returned regularly. Her first solo recital CD of Spanish song was released in 2010 and a second is due in 2016.

Santa María la Blanca was Toledo’s main synagogue at the end of the 12th century, later converted into a church in the 15th.

Although much restored, it remains a fine example of Mudéjar and Almohad architecture; its five naves separated by pillars supporting horseshoe arches with ornate capitals, fine stucco work and a coffered wooden ceiling.

Illustrations. Above left: Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, after a drawing by Joseph Pennell in ‘Castilian Days’ 1903. Above right: wood engraving from ‘The Musical Library’ 1836.

Photographs, clockwise from top left: La Grande Chapelle ©Noah Shaye; Clara Mouriz ©Jose Manuel Bielsa; Eduardo Paniagua; Ex Cathedra ©Neil Pugh.

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Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017

Toledo Cathedral Morales & Victoria

Teatro de Rojas Concierto de Aranjuez

The Tallis Scholars | Peter Phillips director

Carlos Bonell guitar Orchestra to be confirmed

Morales, Victoria and Lobo were all associated with the musical life of Toledo in different ways and at different times. This concert features some of their grandest compositions. The chanson Mille regretz, probably by Josquin des Prez, was one of the most copied secular compositions of the period and the substantial six-voice setting by Morales is perhaps the best known of all of them. The Tallis also perform Lobo’s rarely heard Lamentations, alongside Victoria’s double-choir Magnificat, surely the greatest setting of this popular text in the Spanish repertoire.

With more than four decades of performance and a catalogue of award-winning recordings, Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars have done more than any other group to establish sacred vocal music of the Renaissance as one of the great repertoires of Western music. They remain world leaders in the field of polyphony, and are steadfast in their devotion to mastering the complexity and maximising the beauty of this extraordinary episode in the history of civilization.

The concert takes place in front of the main altar in Toledo’s magnificent cathedral. Built between 1227 and 1493, it is one of the greatest examples of gothic architecture in Spain and is overflowing with extraordinary works of art (El Greco, Velázquez, Titian), though none is more striking than the ceiling-high retablo mayor.

Festooned with painted sculpture, it constitutes a vast and defiant expression of late-gothic sensibility in the face of Renaissance, making for a thrilling backdrop to our evening.

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The Concierto de Aranjuez was the first work that Joaquín Rodrigo wrote for guitar and orchestra. It is also his most famous composition, and one of the most beautiful. Inspired by the extensive gardens of the Royal Palace at Aranjuez, a summer residence inhabited and embellished by both Habsburgs and Bourbon kings, Rodrigo successfully evokes (in his own words) ‘the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains’.

The celebrated guitarist Carlos Bonell was born in London of Spanish parents and studied at the Royal College of Music, where he was later the youngest person ever to be made professor, in 1972. His career includes TV, film and CD recordings (he has made more than twenty albums), tours to over forty countries around the world, concertos with major orchestras and the creation of his own ensemble.

The Teatro de Rojas is situated on the Plaza Major, a few steps from the Cathedral and the Alcázar. Opened in 1879 on the site of the old theatre, it is a clever design which turns through almost 90 degrees as it squeezes between the surrounding houses and shops.

Inside, the auditorium is rather magnificent. Ornate, horseshoeshaped and renovated in both 1989 and 2001, it’s had a chequered history, especially in the early 20th century when ventriloquists and magicians were more likely to appear on its stage than actors.

Illustration, left: Toledo, lithograph c. 1840.

Photographs. Left: The Tallis Scholars ©Eric Richmond. Above: Soledad Cardoso. Right, above: José Miguel Moreno; below: Carlos Bonell.

Hospital de Tavera Music from Spain and Italy, 1500–1700 Orphénica Lyra | José Miguel Moreno director Soledad Cardoso soprano The Habsburg dynasty was at its most powerful in Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries which led to a period of great cultural expansion. Spanish musicians were able to spend time in Italy and this programme celebrates that particular musical interchange.

Included are works for voice and instrumental ensemble with emphasis on the baroque guitar and vihuela (its courtly predecessor), by composers such as Alonso Mudarra, Diego Ortiz, Juan Hidalgo, Andrea Falconiero and Claudio Monteverdi.

Vihuelist José Miguel Moreno is widely recognised as one of the leading specialists in the world of period plucked instruments.

He founded Orphénica Lyra in 1999, an ensemble comprising the leading names in Spanish early music.

Since leaving her native Argentina, Soledad Cardoso has enjoyed a rich operatic career in Europe, performing at the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris and the Barbican Centre in London, among many other prestigious venues and festivals. She has also toured with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants as well as the guitarist Kaori Muraji in Japan.

More about the concerts Exclusive access. The concerts are private, being planned, promoted and administered by Martin Randall Travel exclusively for an audience consisting of those who have taken the full festival package.

Seating. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you want.

Comfort. Seats in some venues are church pews; consider bringing a cushion. Heating in churches is sometimes inadequate; expect to wear a coat or jacket during those concerts.

Concert times. Three of the seven venues are too small to accommodate all participants and so these concerts are repeated.

Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues close for repair, airlines alter schedules: there are many possible unpredictable circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur.

Our venue for the concert is the Hospital de Tavera, just outside the city walls – a remarkable project, begun in 1541, which embraced many new ideas from Renaissance Italy. This was Spain’s first purely classical building, commissioned by one of its most powerful men – Cardinal Tavera and it was a tourist attraction even in the 17th century. Most remarkable are its elegant and airy courtyards, but the complex is also home to an exquisite 16th-century pharmacy, and an altarpiece by El Greco.

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Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017

Hotels & Prices Hotel accommodation for five or six nights is included in the price of the festival and there are five hotels to choose from.

We believe we have selected the best available, but one point to observe is the tendency for simplicity over luxury. The hotel is the sole determinant of the different prices for the festival package.

Location. Four of the hotels are in the historic core of Toledo and within walking distance of all the concert venues. The fifth, the Parador, overlooks the city from across the Tagus. Participants staying here have use of a shuttle to move back and forth.

Quiet? There are traffic restrictions within the city walls but busy street life and the occasional permitted vehicle can mean that few hotels can be guaranteed to be absolutely quiet.

Luggage. Traffic restrictions also apply to coaches so there is a possibility that you will have to carry your own luggage from a nearby set-down point to the hotel. Suitcases with wheels are advised.

Rooms vary. As is inevitable in historic buildings, rooms vary in size and outlook.

Suites and rooms with views. Some hotels have suites. Prices are either given below or are available on request.

All prices given are per person. A list of what is included is given on page 5.

There is a reduction of £130 per person if you choose not to take one of the festival flights.

Hotel Carlos V

Sercotel San Juan de los Reyes

This is a 3-star hotel in the heart of the historic centre, a short walk from both the Cathedral and the Alcázar, venue of the morning lectures. Bedrooms (67 in total) are simply furnished but have been recently renovated. There is a large roof terrace with good restaurant, bar and wonderful views. Free wifi.

A small 4-star hotel (35 rooms) very well located for the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes and the synagogues of the Jewish Quarter. The building is a former flour mill dating from the early 1900s and retains the handsome façade. The mainly twin-bedded rooms edge towards the modern while public areas are more traditional. There is a bar, restaurant and small terrace.

Free wifi.

www.carlosv.com/en Arriving 19th May Premium double (two sharing): £2,420 per person Premium double for single use: £2,620 Arriving 20th May Premium double (two sharing): £2,370 per person Premium double for single use: £2,530

Extra meals There is the option to book two additional dinners, ensuring good food and wine and that you dine in the company of festival participants every night. Price: £100 per person (twocourse dinners, including wine, mineral water, coffee and gratuity. Please tick the relevant box on the booking form.

Hotel Carlos V

en.hotelsanjuandelosreyes.com Arriving 19th May Double (two sharing): £2,620 per person Double for single use: £2,840 Arriving 20th May Double (two sharing): £2,560 per person Double for single use £2,740

Sercotel Pintor El Greco An appealing 4-star hotel (59 rooms) in the Jewish Quarter, and very close to El Greco’s house and museum. Bedrooms follow either a traditional, Castillian style or have more contemporary décor – both feature exposed brickwork and tiled floors. Superior rooms are more spacious. There is a bar but no restaurant although there are plenty of good dining opportunities nearby. Free wifi. www.hotelpintorelgreco.com Arriving 19th May Superior double (two sharing): £2,740 per person Standard double for single use: £2,880 Superior double for single use: £3,050 Arriving 20th May Superior double (two sharing): £2,660 per person Standard double for single use: £2,770 Superior double for single use: £2,920

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Sercotel San Juan de los Reyes

Sercotel Pintor El Greco

Parador de Toledo

Hotel Fontecruz

Parador de Toledo

Hotel Fontecruz

The modern, 4-star Parador is dramatically sited on a hill overlooking the old town from across the Tagus. Bedrooms (78 in total) are spacious and elegant, and superior rooms and the junior suite have panoramic views. Public areas include a bar, restaurant and terrace, all with superb views. Participants staying here have the use of a shuttle bus to move to and from the centre. They can also choose to have lunch or dinner here (set menu) as part of their room reservation when it does not clash with a festival event (we will provide more details in due course).

An attractive and comfortable hotel installed in a Renaissance palace just 200m from the Cathedral. It has a 5-star rating but is much more comparable to a boutique 4-star. The 40 bedrooms are elegantly decorated and furnished in neutral colour schemes. Most overlook an internal atrium rather than the street. The junior suites are more spacious and are better appointed. The stylish public areas include a restaurant run by highly regarded Toledo chef Adolfo Muñoz, a lounge, bar service, fitness club and spa. Free wifi.

www.parador.es Arriving 19th May Standard double (two sharing): £3,060 per person Superior double (two sharing): £3,290 per person Junior Suite (two sharing): £3,580 per person Standard double for single use: £3,370 Superior double for single use: £3,760 Arriving 20th May Standard double (two sharing): £2,940 per person Superior double (two sharing): £3,150 per person Junior Suite (two sharing): £3,410 per person Standard double for single use: £3,200 Superior double for single use: £3,540

eng.fontecruzhoteles.com Arriving 19th May Standard double (two sharing): £3,070 per person Superior double (two sharing): £3,280 per person Junior Suite (two sharing): £3,570 per person Standard double for single use: £3,410 Arriving 20th May Standard double (two sharing): £2,980 per person Superior double (two sharing): £3,180 per person Junior Suite (two sharing): £3,440 per person Standard double for single use: £3,260

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Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017

Travelling to Toledo Flights from London to Madrid with British Airways or Iberia Airlines are included in the prices on pages 10–11. Toledo is located c. 85 km from the airport; we expect the coach journey to take c. 1 hour 30 minutes.

Festival flights Option 1: arrive 19th May. 19th May: depart London Heathrow 14.10, arrive Madrid Barajas 17.35 (British Airways BA 460). 25th May: depart Madrid 13.35, arrive Heathrow 15.10 (Iberia IB 3176).

Option 2: arrive 20th May. 20th May: depart London Gatwick 10.50, arrive Madrid Barajas 14.15 (Iberia Express IB 3175). 25th May: depart Madrid Barajas 18.05, arrive London Gatwick 19.30 (Iberia Express IB 3178).

The no-flights option There is a reduction of £130 per person for the package without flights. If you plan to make your own way to Toledo please tick Option 3: no flights on the booking form.

Should you decide to join or leave the festival at Madrid airport to coincide with one of our flight arrivals or departures, you are welcome to join a coach transfer. Otherwise you would have to make your own way.

Regional airports We are happy to quote for connecting flights from regional airports in the UK. Please request this on the booking form.

Fitness for the festival We must stress that it is essential to cope with the walking and stair-climbing required to get to the concerts and other events.

You should be able to walk unaided for at least thirty minutes.

Toledo’s streets are roughly paved and sometimes narrow and steep. Festival staff will not have the resources to assist individuals with walking difficulties.

We ask that prospective participants assess their fitness by trying these simple exercises: 1. Chair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least 8 times in 30 seconds.

2. Step test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone. Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least 60 times in 2 minutes.

3. Agility test. Place an object 3 yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under 7 seconds.

Optional visits ‘El Greco in Toledo’. Price: £80. Available to those arriving a day early (19th May). On 20th May, visit sites related to El Greco including his house and museum, and a private view of El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz in the church of Santo Tomé. Lunch is included.

Led by Dr Xavier Bray; numbers are limited to 22 participants. To request a place, please tick the relevant box on the booking form.

Participants will be able to select from a further selection of walks and visits, led by Dr Xavier Bray or Gijs van Hensbergen.

Full information about these and prices will be sent to all those booked at a later stage. There will also be lectures on the art and history of Toledo, which do not need to be booked in advance.

Independent or group travel?

For the independent traveller or a group tour? The answer is both. It’s up to you to choose the degree of independence you want.

If you are uneasy about travelling as part of a group, you can avoid the optional extras and participate in the festival merely by turning up to the concerts (we tell you where and when, and how to get there). The rest of the time is your own. But if you prefer to have some guidance and assistance and opportunity for social interaction you can have group dinners every evening, sign up for some art-historical walks and visits and take advantage of any assistance offered for getting to the venues.

Illustration: Toledo, the Tagus and Bridge of St Martin, wood engraving c. 1870.

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Though there will be up to 170 participants, you will frequently find yourself in much smaller units. Participants are spread through five hotels, and numbers at each restaurant and on the optional walks and visits are limited. Special attention will be paid by festival staff to participants travelling on their own.

Pre-festival tours

Gastronomic Valencia

Food & art in south-east Spain

Valencia, Quart Towers, engraving c. 1840.

12–19 May 2017 (md 307) Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen From the sea to the mountains of south-east Spain, a conspectus of Valencian cuisine.

Myriad historical influences (Phoenician, Arab, Jewish) as well as current cutting-edge chefs, such as 3-star Michelin chef Quique Dacosta, make this an incredibly rich gastronomic region to explore.

Led by Gijs van Hensbergen, art historian and author of books on Spanish art and food.

Based in the handsome, vibrant city of Valencia, excellent for its variety of art and architecture, and in the smaller charming seaside town of Dénia.

From market to plate there is nothing fresher or more vibrant than Valencian cuisine. The legendary huertas – market gardens, orange groves, paddy fields and Mediterranean orchards – are the city’s larder. Valencian markets are some of the most beautiful in the world; the Gothic silk market is a World Heritage Site.

The tour includes experiences such as market shopping with a Michelin-starred chef,

exclusive backroom access to the fish auction at La Lonja in Dénia, and tasting unctuous goat’s milk cheeses dribbled with thyme honey in the mountains. There is hospitality at great bodegas like Casa los Frailes, source of wines served to visiting heads of state at Madrid’s Palacio Real.

There are also low-key everyday experiences – a refreshing horchata, a tiger nut milk pick-youup; an Aqua de Valencia, a fresh orange-based cocktail; and rifling the wine cellar, feasting on organic potatoes and nibbling at a perfectly burnt brandade at Casa Montaña, arguably the best bar in the world.

Valencian cuisine is both ancient and new.

Wind-dried octopus prepared to a 3,000-yearold Phoenician recipe is a revelation, as are the sweet luxury of almond biscuits accompanied by an ice cold Moscatel. The Moors held the Levante for 400 years and the phantom flavours live on. We feel the weight of Borgia rule and the Naples connection, and taste history with aliolisteeped fideuà – Europe’s first pasta dish? There are Baroque splendours, shimmering Valencian tiles and the hedonistic sun-drenched canvases of Joaquín Sorolla. There are back streets and museums and hideaway cafés to be explored: the Jewish call, the Almohad Arab walls, the twelfth-century Christian settlement. Dénia’s

museum contains artefacts from the Romans and the Iberians, who were pressing wine 5,000 years ago. The final lunch is provided by 3-star Michelin chef Quique Dacosta, a whirlwind of inventive brilliance, theatre and caprice.

Itinerary Day 1: Valencia. Fly at c. 11.45am from London Gatwick to Valencia, (British Airways). First of three nights in Valencia.

Day 2: Valencia. Peruse the produce in the fine modernista-style Mercado Central with a Michelin-starred chef, to learn his zerokilometre philosophy. Mercado Colón is home to the Ricard Camarena cooking laboratory, where there is a cooking demonstration followed by lunch. Evening brings a private visit to the IVAM (Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno) with its superb collection of cubist sculpture by Julio González.

Day 3: Valencia. Visit the Museum of Fine Arts, one of the best in Spain, with works by Valencian, Spanish and Flemish masters; and the National Ceramics Museum, housed in its exuberantly Churrigueresque palace. Paella originates from La Albufera, a freshwater

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Pre-festival tours

Gastronomic Valencia continued

lagoon nearby on the Gulf of Valencia. Taste this authentic rice dish, cooked over a wood fire, before a sunset cruise on a traditional fishing boat. Dinner is in La Sucursal (1-star Michelin) housed in the Veles e Vents building on the Marina.

Day 4: Fontanars dels Alforins, Cocentaina.

Leave Valencia and drive south, stopping at Fontanars dels Alforins for a wine tasting at the prestigious Casa los Frailes. Continue to Cocentaina, located between the Sierra de Mariola and Serpis river, for lunch at the familyrun L’escalata restaurant (1-star Michelin). Drive to the coast for the first of four nights in Dénia.

Day 5: Gandia. Dating from the 14th century and home to the Borgias, the Palacio Ducal de Gandia displays Gothic architecture, with Renaissance and Baroque additions. Gandia is also where the dish fideuà originated, a noodle dish usually cooked with seafood. Return to Dénia in time for the arrival of the fishing boats and exclusive access to the fish auction.

Day 6: Dénia, Parcent. A morning walk takes in the historical centre of Dénia, including the 11th-century Moorish Castle. Ascend into the mountains through orange and almond groves to Parcent for a wine tasting, cooking demonstration and lunch at Bodegas Gutiérrez de la Vega, a family-run business famous for their sweet Moscatel wine.

Day 7: Dénia. The morning is free. Take a walk before lunch along the impressive coastline of Las Rotas before continuing to Quique Dacosta’s restaurant (3-star Michelin). Dacosta combines local, seasonal produce with cutting-edge creativity and technique.

Day 8. Drive north to Valencia for a tapas lunch at Casa Montaña and a walk through Calatrava’s science park. Take the AVE (high speed train) from Valencia to Madrid (c. 1 hour 40 minutes) and then travel by coach to Toledo (c. 1 hour), arriving c. 8.00pm. Participants not combining with the festival return to London Gatwick at c. 6.15pm.

Thursday 25th May: final day of the festival.

Join the option 2 flight returning to London Gatwick at 7.30pm.

Lecturer Gijs van Hensbergen. Art historian and author specialising in Spain and the USA. His books include Gaudí, In the Kitchens of Castile and Guernica. He studied Art History at the Courtauld Institute and is a Fellow of the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies at the LSE.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,390 or £3,260 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,660 or £3,530 without flights. In addition to the below, these prices include first class high speed train travel from Valencia to Madrid and coach travel from Madrid to Toledo.

If you are not combining this tour with the festival, the price is, for two sharing: £3,290 or £3,160 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,560 or £3,430 without flights.

Included: flights (Euro Traveller, economy class) with British Airways and Iberia Airlines

Valencia, the market place, in ‘Leaves from a Sketchbook’, by S. Read 1875.

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(Airbus 320); travel by private coach; hotel accommodation; breakfasts; 7 lunches and 2 dinners with wine, water, coffee; all wine and food tastings; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Accommodation. SH Hotel Inglés, Valencia (inglesboutique.com): 4-star hotel installed in an 18th-century palace in a very central location next to the National Ceramics Museum. Rooms for single occupancy have queen-size beds. La Posada del Mar, Dénia (laposadadelmar.com): 4-star hotel located near the historic centre and overlooking the harbour.

Toledo: your chosen festival hotel.

How strenuous? Coach access is restricted in historical centres and there is a fair amount of walking and standing around in museums, vineyards and at cooking demonstrations.

Dinners tend to be at 8.30 or 9.00pm in Spain, so you might get to bed later than you usually would. Average coach travel per day: 40 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Combining this tour with the festival Flights, if you require them, are included in the price of this tour. You do not need to choose a festival flight option.

Festival price. As this tour ends the day before the festival starts, you will be charged the price for arriving in Toledo on the 19th May, and you will pay the festival price ‘without flights’. See pages 10–11 for prices.

Pre-festival tours

The Douro

12–19 May 2017 (md 308) Lecturer: Adam Hopkins One of the most remote and picturesque corners of Europe.

Visits include major museums, mediaeval and Baroque architecture, gardens, Paleolithic art and wine tastings at private estates.

Journeys of immense beauty by rail and boat.

Led by Adam Hopkins, journalist and author, specialist in Spanish and Portuguese history and culture.

One of our more leisurely tours.

The upper reaches of the Douro in Portugal present a landscape of extraordinary beauty and tranquillity. The banks rise steeply into the surrounding hills which are clothed with terraced vineyards, patches of woodland, little villages and quintas. Until recently one of the remotest clefts in western Europe, the region remains remarkably unspoilt and difficult of access. It is best approached by train; a journey into mountains that begins at the mouth of the river in Porto (Oporto).

From Porto to Pinhão

The capital of northern Portugal, Porto is synonymous with the port wine trade, which since time immemorial has been dominated by the British. Hence an architectural peculiarity of Porto: the serene Neo-Palladianism of buildings

by John Carr of York and his imitators cheekby-jowl with the highly wrought, startlingly pigmented and lavishly gilded Baroque style of churches and public buildings. Baroque was virtually introduced by another foreigner, the Tuscan painter-architect Nicolau Nasoni who had a hand in the design of many churches and houses in the city and along the Douro.

Porto is also relatively unspoilt, retaining a jumble of historic architecture on its undulating even precipitous site, but it is also a city of parks and gardens and the occasional flash of ultramodern architecture.

This is not a tour in pursuit of masterpieces, rather an exploration of delicious scenery and ancient townscapes in a most beautiful but often overlooked corner of Europe. The port wine industry is a subsidiary theme, along with the excellent red wines now produced here. The pace on this tour is slower than on many.

Illustration: The Douro, lithograph 1813.

Itinerary Day 1: Porto. Fly at c. 1.00pm from London Gatwick to Porto (TAP Portugal). Introductory talk and time for a stroll along the river front before dinner. First of three nights in Porto.

Day 2: Porto. Porto is dense with historic architecture and falls steeply down to the River Douro. The cathedral is basically 13th-century with later embellishments, many by the painterarchitect Nicolau Nasoni. The Clerigos Church with its wonderful Baroque tower is also by Nasoni, the church of the Misericordia has good Flemish paintings and São Francisco has an amazingly rich carved and gilded interior. Also see the magnificent decorative tiles, azulejos, in the railway station and visit the Factory House (by special arrangement), a club of British port wine traders founded in the 18th century.

Overnight Porto.

Day 3: Porto. See the façade of the Hospital de São António designed by John Carr of York (1770). The Soares dos Reis was Portugal’s first national museum and has collections of Portuguese fine and decorative arts, and the nearby Museu Romântico in the Quinta

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Pre-festival tours

The Douro continued

Combining this tour with the festival Flights, if you require them, are included in the price of this tour. You do not need to choose a festival flight option.

Festival price. As this tour ends the day before the festival starts, you will be charged the price for arriving in Toledo on the 19th May, and you will pay the festival price ‘without flights’.. See pages 10–11 for prices.

Lecturer Adam Hopkins. Journalist and author, now living in a mountain village in Spain.

He studied at King’s College, Cambridge, and has contributed extensively to national newspapers in Britain on Spanish culture and travel. Among his many books: Spanish Journeys: A Portrait of Spain.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,580 or £2,410 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,030 or £2860 without flights. (NB ‘without flights’ prices include the flight from Porto to Madrid on day 8.)

If you are not combining this tour with the festival, the price is, for two sharing: £2,410 or £2,240 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,860 or £2,690 without flights.

Porto, wood engraving c. 1880.

da Macieirinha has a garden and 19thcentury furnishings. Álvaro Siza’s Fundação de Serralves is set in an attractive park and houses contemporary art. Cross the Douro for a tasting at a port lodge and study the scene of Wellington’s impulsive and brilliant 1809 river crossing which enabled him to finish Marshal Soult’s still-warm lunch.

Day 4: Porto, Douro Valley, Pinhão.

Free morning in Porto. Early afternoon train journey up the Douro Valley which becomes increasingly rural, unspoilt and beautiful, with vineyards, patches of woodland and quintas clinging to the hills. Pinhão is a tiny town with a hotel in a former port lodge overlooking the Douro. First of four nights in Pinhão.

Day 5: São João de Tarouca, Lamego.

At the village of São João de Tarouca, there are paintings by Grão Vasco (1506–42) and Gaspar Vaz (1490–1569) in the church beside which are the ruins of the first Cistercian abbey in Portugal (1169). Continue to the busy little town of Lamego, replete with Baroque mansions and dominated by the pilgrimage church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios atop a ceremonial stairway. The town museum in the former episcopal palace contains a series of panels

by Grão Vasco. See also the cathedral, largely Renaissance behind a Romanesque belfry and has a Gothic west front.

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Day 6: Vale do Côa. Up the Douro is the small town of Vila Nova Foz Côa with church with Manueline doorway. Close to the border with Spain the River Côa valley holds one of the greatest archaeological finds of recent years, an extensive array of outdoor Paleolithic art, the largest in Europe. There are wellpreserved engravings of auroch, horse, deer and goat along a long stretch of steeply slate-banked river. Visit one of the key sites by 4WD, then continue on foot. Return to Pinhão on the train beside the Douro.

Day 7: the Douro by train and boat. A leisurely day in the heart of the wine-making area. Travel by rail downstream to the Quinta do Vallado; visit and lunch here. Sail back to Pinhão on a private rabelo boat.

Day 8: Vila Real. The Palácio de Mateus at Vila Real, a Nasoni design made familiar by the rosé wine label, is a fine 18th-century manor house, well furnished and with gardens including a box tree avenue. Continue to Porto airport for a late afternoon flight to Madrid.

Transfer by coach to your selected festival hotel in Toledo, arriving c. 9.30pm. Participants not combining with the festival fly from Porto to London Gatwick arriving at c. 9.30pm.

Thursday 25th May: final day of the festival.

Join the option 2 flight returning to London Gatwick at 7.30pm.

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Included: flights (economy class) on scheduled TAP (London to Porto) and Iberia (Porto to Madrid, Madrid to London) flights (Airbus 319); private coach for transfers and some excursions, some rail and boat travel; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 2 lunches and 5 dinners with wine, water and coffee; all admission to museums, churches, wine estates, etc.; all tips for restaurant staff and drivers; all state and airport taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Accommodation: Pestana Vintage, Porto (pestana.com) an excellently situated 4-star hotel in the historic centre, on the right bank of the river Douro. Vintage House, Pinhão (csvintagehouse.com) a delightful hotel surrounded by vineyards and with gardens and terrace overlooking the river. Toledo: your chosen festival hotel.

How strenuous? Visits in Porto are on foot and uphill (via some flights of steps). The archaeological park requires sure-footedness.

Travel is by coach, train and boat. Average distance by coach per day: 37 miles.

Group size: between 12 and 22 participants.

Extend your trip further by combing this tour with Lisbon Neighbourhoods, 6–11 May 2017.

Please contact us for full details or visit www. martinrandall.com.

Pre-festival tours

The Heart of Spain 14–20 May 2017 (md 306) Lecturer: Dr Nicola Jennings Stay in Salamanca, Burgos and Segovia, some of Spain’s most beautiful cities.

Led by Nicola Jennings, art historian with a particular interest in Renaissance Spain.

Since their fusion under one crown in the eleventh century, the ancient kingdoms of Castile and León have been responsible for some of the most emblematic periods of Spanish history. These former rival territories established themselves as the heart of Spain and exerted great influence over language, religion and culture far across the mediaeval map. Innumerable castles were built here (hence ‘Castile’) for this was the principal battleground of the Reconquista, the five-hundred-year war of attrition against the Moors which reclaimed Spain for Christendom.

The region occupies much of the Meseta, the vast and austere plateau in the centre of the Iberian peninsula. Here are many of Spain’s finest cities, buildings and works of art. Lovers of Romanesque will feel particularly satisfied for there are many excellent examples of the style.

Great Gothic churches are another magnificent feature, the cathedrals at Burgos, Segovia and Salamanca among them. French, German and English influences are to be found, though the end result is always unmistakably Spanish.

Ancient kingdoms of Castile

and German Gothic styles and has remarkable vaults and 16th-century choir stalls. On the outskirts is the convent of Las Huelgas Reales with its important early Gothic church while the charterhouse of Miraflores has superb sculpture

by Gil de Siloé.

Day 5: Lerma, Santo Domingo de Silos, Segovia. The village of Lerma has a wealth of buildings from the early 17th century including an arcaded main square with ducal palace and the Collegiate church of San Pedro. Santo Domingo de Silos has the finest Romanesque

monastery in Spain, outstanding for the sculpture of the 12th-century cloister. Segovia is one of the loveliest cities in Spain and architecturally one of the most richly endowed.

First of two nights in Segovia.

Day 6: Segovia. An morning walk includes the remarkable Roman aqueduct, one of the biggest in Europe the Monasterio de El Parral, with gothic nave and splendid carvings, the cathedral, a soaring Gothic structure, and the restored Alcázar (castle), dramatically perched at the prow of the hill. Afternoon excursion to La Burgos Cathedral, after a drawing by Darcy Wadham 1897.

Itinerary Day 1: Salamanca. Fly at c. 10.50am from London Gatwick to Madrid (Iberia Airlines).

Drive to Salamanca for the first of two nights.

Day 2: Salamanca. Distinguished by the honeycoloured hue of its stone, Salamanca is one of the most attractive cities in Spain and home to its most prestigious university. See the magnificent 16th-century Gothic ‘New Cathedral’ and austere Romanesque ‘Old Cathedral’, the 18th-century Plaza Mayor and superb, elaborate Plateresque sculpture on the façades of the university and church of San Esteban. The University has 15th- and 16th-century quadrangles, arcaded courtyards and original lecture halls. The Convento de las Dueñas has a Plateresque portal and an irregular, two-tiered cloister.

Day 3: Tordesillas, Valladolid, Burgos. The convent of Tordesillas, spectacular combinations of Islamic and Netherlandish artistic traditions, was once the palace of Pedro the Cruel and his lover, Maria de Padilla. The Colegio de San Gregorio, now the National Museum of Sculpture, with Gil de Siloé’s intricately carved stone portal houses works by all the great Renaissance masters including Berruguete.

Continue to Burgos for the first of two nights.

Day 4. Burgos. Burgos was the early capital of Castile, whose cathedral combines French

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Pre-festival tours

The Heart of Spain continued

Burgos, Las Huelgas Monastery, lithograph c. 1850.

Granja de San Ildefonso, the palace constructed for Philip V in the early 18th century, with magnificent formal gardens. Return to the city via the Monastery of San Antonio el Real, with fine wooden Mudéjar coffering.

Practicalities

Day 7: El Escorial. This vast retreat-cumpalace-cum-monastery-cum-pantheon was built from 1563 to 1584 for Philip II, successfully embodying his instructions for ‘nobility without arrogance, majesty without ostentation, severity in the whole’. Continue by coach to Toledo for drinks and dinner with festival participants.

Participants not joining the festival fly from Madrid to London Gatwick at c. 7.30pm.

If you are not combining this tour with the festival, the price is, for two sharing: £2,070 or £1,910 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,330 or £2,170 without flights.

Thursday 25th May: final day of the festival.

Join the option 2 flight returning to London Gatwick at 7.30pm.

Lecturer Dr Nicola Jennings. Art historian with a particular interest in Renaissance Spain.

She obtained her MA and PhD at the Courtauld, where she is currently a Visiting Lecturer. She is a Research and Curatorial Associate at Colnaghi, London, and Spanish art dealer Coll y Cortés, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

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Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,120 or £1,960 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,380 or £2,220 without flights.

Included: flights (economy class) with Iberia (aircraft: Airbus A320 & A321); travel by private coach; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 5 dinners with wine or beer, soft drinks, water and coffee; all admissions; all tips; all state and airport taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Accommodation. NH Palacio de Castellanos (nh-hotels.com): attractive 4-star hotel in a converted palace, close to the Cathedrals and other key sites. NH Palacio de la Merced, Burgos (nh-hotels. com): 4-star hotel in a converted palace.

Eurostars Convento Capuchinos, Segovia (eurostarsconventocapuchinos.com): 5-star hotel set in a converted 17th century church and monastery complex.

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Combining this tour with the festival Flights, if you require them, are included in the price of this tour. You do not need to choose a festival flight option.

Festival price. As this tour ends on the first day of the festival, you will be charged the price for arriving in Toledo on the 20th May, and you will pay the festival price ‘without flights’. See pages 10–11 for prices.

How strenuous? This tour involves walking in town centres, some of it on cobbled streets and uphill. It should not be undertaken by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stairclimbing. Average distance by coach per day: 77 miles. Dinners tend to be at 8.30 or 9.00pm in Spain, so you might get to bed later than you would usually.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Pre-festival tours

Art in Madrid 16–20 May 2017 (md 309) Lecturer: Dr Zahira Bomford Two visits to the Prado plus the ThyssenBornemisza Collection and the Reina Sofía, home to Picasso’s Guernica.

Lesser-known places include the Sorolla Museum, Archaeological Museum and Goya frescoes at San Antonio de la Florida.

The lecturer Dr Zahira Bomford is an art historian specialising in Spain.

This can be booked as a pre-festival tour, or on its own.

While the Museo del Prado alone might justify a visit to Madrid – and this tour has two sessions there – the city has other excellent collections which reinforce its reputation as one of the great art centres of Europe.

This city of Velázquez and Goya has been enormously enhanced over the years by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection and the Reina Sofía Museum. Both these and the Prado boast superb facilities and exhibiting spaces thanks to the work of architects Jean Nouvel (Reina Sofía), Manuel Baquero and Francesc Plá (Thyssen) and Rafael Moneo (Prado) converting them into world-class galleries. Our stints at the ‘big three’ are interspersed with less-visited collections.

The great Spanish painters – including El Greco, Murillo, Velázquez, Goya and Picasso – are of course magnificently represented on the tour, but the collecting mania of the Habsburgs and Bourbons and their subjects has resulted in a wide range of artistic riches which will surprise and delight. There is a large number of outstanding paintings by Titian and Rubens, for example, and the Prado has by far the largest holding of the bizarre creations of Hieronymus Bosch.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.15am (Iberia Airlines) from London Heathrow to Madrid. Begin at the recently renovated Archaeological Museum, good on ancient Iberian civilization and Roman Spain. Settle into the hotel before dinner.

Day 2. Start with a first visit to the Prado Museum, which is among the world’s greatest art galleries, concentrating on the Spanish school.

Continue to the arcaded, balconied Plaza Mayor, centrepiece of Habsburg town planning. In the afternoon visit the Lázaro Galdiano Museum with works by El Greco, Goya and Murillo and then the Sorolla Museum, in the charming house of the eponymous Impressionist painter.

Day 3. Morning visit to the Royal Tapestry Factory, founded in 1721 by Phillip V with designs by Goya, many of which are still reproduced today. Continue to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, home to works by Goya, Zurbarán, Ribera and Murillo. The

The Great Galleries afternoon is spent at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, housed in the 18th-century Palacio de Villahermosa until its purchase by the Spanish state in 1993 one of the world’s largest private art collections.

Day 4. Travel by coach to the church of San Antonio de la Florida, with fine Goya frescoes, before returning to the Prado, this time primarily to see the Italian and Netherlandish schools. The afternoon is free to allow for temporary exhibitions (details nearer the time) or a visit to the 18th-century Royal Palace.

Combining this tour with the festival Flights, if you require them, are included in the price of this tour. You do not need to choose a festival flight option.

Festival price. As this tour ends on the first day of the festival, you will be charged the price for arriving in Toledo on the 20th May, and you will pay the festival price ‘without flights’. See pages 10–11 for prices.

Day 5. Walk via Herzog & de Meuron’s Caixaforum to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, one of the greatest modern art museums and home to Picasso’s Guernica plus works by Miró, Dalí and Tàpies. Continue by coach to Toledo for drinks and dinner with festival participants.

Participants not combining with the festival return to London Heathrow, arriving c. 6.00pm.

Thursday 25th May: final day of the festival.

Join the option 1 flight returning to London Heathrow at 3.10pm.

Lecturer Dr Zahira Bomford. Senior Conservator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Completed her PhD at the Courtauld, where she has also lectured, in addition to Rice University, Houston, UCL and the V&A. She has worked in conservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Prado and the National Trust and has published extensively on Spanish art.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,860 or £1,580 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,180 or £1,900 without flights.

If you are not combining this tour with the festival, the price is, for two sharing: £1,810 or £1,530 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,130 or £1,850 without flights.

Included: flights (economy class) on Iberia Airlines flights (Airbus A321); coach for transfers and excursions; accommodation as described below; breakfasts and 3 dinners with wine or beer, soft drinks, water, coffee or tea; all admissions; all tips for waiters, drivers; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Accommodation. NH Palacio de Tepa, Madrid (nh-hoteles.com): small, excellently located 5-star hotel. Comfortable; contemporary décor.

How strenuous? There is a lot of walking and standing around (which can be more tiring than moving around). Participants need to be able to cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing.

Group size: between 9 and 19 participants.

Illustration: Madrid, San Francisco El Grande, 20th-century watercolour.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

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Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017 Toledo, cathedral, lithograph c. 1850.

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Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017

Booking form Name(s) as you would like it/them to appear to other festival participants Participant 1:

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Contact details for all correspondence Address Postcode/Zip Country Telephone (home) Mobile E-mail ☐ Please tick if you are happy to receive your festival/tour and booking documents by e-mail only, where possible. ☐ Please tick if you do NOT want to receive regular updates by e-mail on our other tours, music festivals and London Days. ☐ Please tick if you do NOT want to receive any more of our brochures.

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For example, a marketing email from us, browsing on our website, or receiving this brochure.

Hotel and room type. See pages 10–11.

Arrival date. Please confirm the date you require accommodation from.

Pre-festival tours. Please tick to add to your festival booking.

☐ Premium double (two sharing)

☐ 19th May – the day before the festival starts.

☐ Premium double for single use

☐ 20th May – first day of the festival.

☐ Gastronomic Valencia 12–19 May 2017 (md 307) See pages 13–14

Sercotel San Juan de los Reyes

Prices are given for both options on pages 10–11. If you require any further extra nights, please request these overleaf.

☐ The Douro 12–19 May 2017 (md 308) See pages 15–16

Sercotel Pintor El Greco

Optional extras

☐ Superior double (two sharing)

☐ Package of two extra dinners £100 per person (see page 10)

☐ The Heart of Spain 14–20 May 2017 (md 306) See pages 17–18

Hotel Carlos V

☐ Standard double (two sharing) ☐ Standard double for single use

☐ Standard double for single use ☐ Superior double for single use Parador de Toledo ☐ Standard double (two sharing) ☐ Superior double (two sharing) ☐ Junior suite (two sharing)

☐ ‘El Greco in Toledo’ £80 per person (see page 12) Optional walk with Dr Xavier Bray on the 19th May. Details of further optional walks and visits will be sent to all participants at a later stage.

Hotel Fontecruz ☐ Standard double (two sharing) ☐ Superior double (two sharing) ☐ Junior suite (two sharing) ☐ Standard double for single use

Sharing a room? Please tick for: ☐ Twin beds

☐ Double bed

Pre-festival tour room type Please tick one: ☐ Double room (two sharing) ☐ Twin room (two sharing) ☐ Double for single use

☐ Standard double for single use ☐ Superior double for single use

☐ Art in Madrid 16–20 May 2017 (md 309) See pages 19–20

Travelling to Toledo. See page12.

(Please do not complete this section if you are also booking a pre-festival tour.) ☐ Option 1: arrive 19th May. London Heathrow–Madrid return Depart at 14.10; return 15.10. ☐ Option 2: arrive 20th May. London Gatwick–Madrid return Depart at 10.50; return 19.30 ☐ Option 3: no flights. Making own arrangements for travel to and from the festival (reduction £130).

Pre-festival tour travel arrangements Return flights from London are included in the price of each prefestival tour: you fly out with the tour group, and back with the festival group.

Please tick one: ☐ I will take the return flights as specified in the tour itinerary. ☐ I will make my own arrangements for travel to the tour, and onwards at the end of the festival.

Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017

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by AITO. If you are taking our flights and wish to make a donation (£5 for short-haul flights), please tick below. Read more at www.martinrandall.com/responsible-tourism. ☐ I would like to add a carbon offset donation to my booking (please tick).

TOTAL: £ Payment method.

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF, United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 Fax +44 (0)20 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com Martin Randall Australasia, PO Box 1024, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au Canada Tel (647) 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca

☐ By cheque. I enclose a cheque payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd – please write the festival code (md 310) on the back. ☐ By debit or credit card. I authorise Martin Randall Travel to contact me by telephone to take payment from my Visa credit/Visa debit/Mastercard/AMEX.

Bookings paid for by credit card will have 2% added to cover processing charges. This brings us into line with standard travel industry practice. It does not apply to other forms of payment.

☐ By bank transfer. Use your surname and the festival code (md 310) as a reference and ask your bank to allow for all charges.

Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd Bank: Handelsbanken, 2 Chiswick High Road, London W4 1TH

For transfers from UK (Sterling) bank accounts: Account number 8663 3438 • Sort code 40-51-62

For transfers from non-UK bank accounts: IBAN: GB98 HAND 4051 6286 6334 38 • Swift/BIC code: HAND GB22

USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085

I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions on behalf of all listed on this form.

Signature Date

Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music, 20–25 May 2017

Booking details & conditions 1. Booking option We recommend that you contact us first to ascertain that your preferred accommodation is still available. You can make a booking option which we will hold for one week (longer if necessary) pending receipt of your completed Booking Form and deposit. You can also make a booking option online.

2. Definite booking Fill in the Booking Form and send it to us with the deposit(s) or make a definite booking online, at www.martinrandall.com. It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage, and that you sign the Booking Form if booking offline. Full payment is required if you are booking within ten weeks of the festival (i.e. 11th March 2017 or later).

3. Our confirmation Upon receipt of your Booking Form and deposit we send you confirmation of your booking. Further details about the festival may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions.

Booking Conditions Please read these You need to sign your assent to these booking conditions on the booking form.

Our promises to you We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity.

We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, often going beyond the minimum obligations.

We aim to provide full and accurate information about our tours and festivals. If there are changes, we will tell you promptly.

If something does go wrong, we will try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services.

What we ask of you That you read the information we send to you.

Specific terms Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. We reserve the right to refuse a booking without necessarily giving a reason. You need to have a level of fitness which would not spoil other participants’ enjoyment of the festival or tour by slowing them down – see ‘Fitness for the festival’ on page 12. To this end we ask you to take the tests described. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have met these requirements. If during the festival or tour it transpires you are not able to cope adequately, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits, or be invited to leave altogether. This would be at your own expense.

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Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance for the duration of your holiday with Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Cover for medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and cancellation charges must be included. Insurance can be obtained from most insurance companies, banks, travel agencies and (in the UK) many retail outlets including Post Offices. Experience tells us that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not reliable in the event of a claim.

Passports and visas. Participants must have passports, valid for at least six months beyond the date of the festival. No visas are required for travel in Spain for UK or other EU citizens, or for citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Nationals of other countries should ascertain whether visas are required in their case, and obtain them if they are.

If you cancel. If you have to cancel your participation in the festival or tour there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before departure the deposit only is forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost will be due: from 56 to 29 days: from 28 to 15 days: from 14 to 3 days: within 48 hours:

40% 60% 80% 100%

If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room but are travelling with a companion who chooses not to cancel, the companion will be liable to pay the single occupancy price.

We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive your written confirmation of cancellation.

If we cancel the festival or tour. We might decide to cancel the festival or tour if at any time up to eight weeks before departure there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable. We would refund everything you had paid to us.

Safety and security. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to places visited on a tour or festival, we would cancel it or adjust the itinerary to avoid the risky area. In the event of cancellation before departure, we would give you a full refund.

We would also treat sympathetically a wish to withdraw from a tour to a troubled region even if the FCO does not advise against travel there.

Seatbelts. Our tours and festivals subscribe to the health and safety legislation of the destination. In some parts of the world the law concerning seatbelts differs to the UK. The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of the festival or tour, except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates.

If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating the festival or tour exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the festival or tour

we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not acceptable we would give a full refund.

Financial protection: ATOL. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 3622. When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. Most of our flights and flightinclusive holidays on our website and in our brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. In order to be protected under the ATOL scheme you need to be in the UK when you make your booking and/or one of the flights you take must originate or terminate in the UK with the group.

Financial protection: ABTA. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTA The Travel Association.

We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative).

In some cases, where we aren’t able do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder.

However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the nonprovision of the services, including any claim against us (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims maybe re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.

English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 Fax +44 (0)20 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068 Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au Canada Tel (647) 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 (connects with London office)

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Illustration: Toledo, etching 1884 by A.H. Haig.

More music festivals in 2017: A Festival of Music in Florence 13–18 March 2017 ‘The Miracle of Salzburg’ 18–24 June 2017 The Rhône Music Festival 6–13 July 2017 The Danube Music Festival 20–27 August 2017 The Johann Sebastian Bach Journey 4–10 September 2017 Vivaldi in Venice 6–11 November 2017 Please contact us for information.