An Epithalamion, or Marriage Song on the Lady Elizabeth and Count Palatine being Married on St Valentine’s Day (John Donne, 1613)

Frederick and Elizabeth, King and Queen of Bohemia Today marks the 404th anniversary of the marriage of Elizabeth Stuart (sister of Charles I) to Frederick, the Elector Palatine. The pair married on 14 February 1613, with lavish simultaneous celebrations in London and Heidelberg. John Donne was commissioned to write a marriage song to celebrate the occasion, so, for all those celebrating Valentine's Day, here it is ...

Excerpt from I Puritani

Excerpt from  I Puritani, Bellini's opera set during the English Civil War, at the Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York, The opera runs until May 10 2014.

Read the full review

Q&A: Matthew Hopkins and the Wormhole (Kevin Pearce, singer-songwriter)

Essex singer-songwriter Kevin Pearce. Photo: © Kevin Pearce.

An article in the Independent about indie artists who’ve recently looked to the 17th century for inspiration brought me to Kevin Pearce.

The Essex singer-songwriter's latest album, Matthew Hopkins and Wormhole, has an ethereal, acoustic-electric sound, with Kevin's vocals soaring like a kaleidoscopic ray from the future returning to stir ghosts from the past.

I asked Kevin about his work, and how he came to write an album inspired by Hopkins, the 'Witchfinder General' who terrorised East Anglia in the 1640s …

Darren Hayman talks about the making of The Violence

Click on the video above to hear songwriter Darren Hayman talk about the making of his album The Violence.

The 20-song release chronicles the English Civil War in Essex, in particular the witch trials led by Matthew Hopkins that brought terror to East Anglia in the 1640s. Track titles include Vinegar Tom and A Coffin for King Charles, A Coffin for Cromwell, and a Pit for the People.

Part two of the video
Part three of the video

Darren Hayman and the Long Parliament - The Violence
My review of the recent exhibition The East Anglian Witch Hunt 1645-47