Coriander StuttardReflection Amongst the Bustle of London
Step away from the surging sea of pedestrians and bask in some of London’s architectural gems and wile away an hour to beautiful music
Article by Coriander Stuttard
Working in the exciting high-tech, high rise buildings in the City can be exhilarating, fast paced and intense - in a good and a bad way. Many companies offer gyms nearby and there’s no doubt that exercise can unleash some of the daily tensions that build up. But for those looking to really take a few moments in a lunch hour or after work to switch off mentally and reflect, some of the wonderful old Churches and venues close by offer short lunchtime or after-work concerts – a perfect antidote to life in the fast lane.
St Martin in the Fields, beside Trafalgar Square offers a whole range of concerts. It gives an opportunity for up and coming musicians and well-loved figures to perform and in a month’s schedule there is certainly something for every musical taste. For those getting to know classical music, there are frequent performances of popular classics – Vivaldi, Mozart and Handel by candlelight – but there are also free lunchtime concerts many days which showcase new talent with a broader repertoire. And whilst these concerts are not ultra-formal, for a very much more relaxed atmosphere, the Café in the Crypt opens on a Wednesday night for a series of ticketed Jazz concerts.
Staying in that area, the National Portrait Gallery across the road has its ‘Late Shift’ on a Thursday and Friday with a whole mix of activities and a lovely way to socialise. There’s often a musical duo or a DJ to add colour to the artistic activities and drinking ambience between 6-9pm.
For those based more in the Square Mile in want of a little lunchtime respite, look between the modern architecture and you will find beautiful churches sheltering beneath the big modern shards of glass! After the Great Fire of London there were as many as 75 churches in the City– that number has reduced over the centuries but there are still 39 (some Wren’s smaller masterpieces) and some of these offer some interesting, free lunchtime recitals. St Martin within Ludgate, on Ludgate Hill near St Paul’s Cathedral, and St Lawrence Jewry on Gresham Street next to the Guildhall offer recitals on a Monday. St Olave’s on Hart Street near Fenchurch Street has been holding weekly lunchtime concerts for over 50 years and you can drop in on a Wednesday or Thursday lunchtime.
At St Mary-at-Hill Church on Lovat Lane, sandwiches are welcome and you are very much ‘allowed’ to come and go between pieces during the lunchtime recitals each Tuesday. The Church has an enthusiastic music director and organist promoting the recitals which, during October, focus on music and poetry. A different St Mary – St Mary Abchurch is an architectural gem. It is a tiny Church, hidden away near Cannon Street in its own grounds (Abchurch Yard) – but it is an original Christopher Wren Church, rebuilt by him after the Great Fire and completed in 1686. Very little has changed since then and it is worth a visit in itself – on a Tuesday there is a lunchtime organ recital, but it also a venue for other ad-hoc concerts, worth keeping an eye open for.
Heading over to Piccadilly, one of the most interesting Churches for music is St James’ Piccadilly, which has a thriving programme and does an important job of showcasing students from the London music conservatoires, as well as many other interesting groups, during the concerts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes. It’s a lovely, big, airy Church with a fine café attached to it. Visit for the music and the setting – it can be quite bizarre stepping out onto busy Piccadilly after the sanctity of fifty minutes of beautiful music!
These venues all have retiring collections, but they are basically free, informal and a lovely contrast to what goes on around in the city. Architecturally noteworthy in themselves, many of them have chosen to open their doors to musicians to keep connected with the community. The blend of music and setting does offer a place for a moment of reflection in the day, whatever your creed. 