Temple Song series: music that leaves noise behind

In his 1841 novel Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens described the "clerkly monkish atmosphere" of London's Temple complex, imagining a sign on its gates to read: "Who enters here leaves noise behind". Today, this secluded enclave of formal gardens and historic Inns of Court on the fringes of the City remains the preserve of working barristers, but while noise may be frowned upon, music has long been encouraged.

When King James I gifted the site to the Middle and Inner Temple Inns in 1608, he charged them with the upkeep of Temple Church, which had been consecrated by the order of the Knights Templar in 1185, and intended as a representation of Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

A men's and boys' choir has sung here throughout the centuries but in 2003 the church became the focus of renewed attention when the newly formed Temple Music Foundation commissioned and premiered John Tavener's The Veil of the Temple, an all-night choral vigil described by the composer before his death in 2013 as "the supreme achievement of my life".

Since then the TMF has flourished and diversified but its musical activities remain one of London's best-kept secrets. One of its offshoots is Temple Song, an annual series of song recitals, curated by the pianist Julius Drake, that has made its home in another of Temple's historic buildings. "The church is, of course, amazing but it has the usual problem, which is the acoustic is rather 'churchy,' " Drake explains. "I felt it would probably be too reverberant for a song recital. But then I saw Middle Temple Hall and I thought this could be amazing."

Built between 1562 and 1573, Middle Temple Hall survived both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz, and it is rich with historical detail. Queen Elizabeth I is thought to have dined here in the days when the Inn was Crown property and is said to have sailed an oak tree from Windsor Forest down the Thames for the construction of the High Table that is still in use today. It was here that the first known performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night took place in 1602, and where many of the early expeditions to the Americas were planned - which makes it a fitting backdrop for this year's opening Temple Song concert titled The Sea.

For this recital of songs and poems, Drake will be joined on stage by a rich cast - tenor Mark Padmore, baritone Roderick Williams and actor Rory Kinnear - and the programme, inspired by a charity concert that Padmore arranged in aid of the St Endellion Festival in Cornwall, includes work from composers and writers as diverse as Brahms and Kipling, Haydn and Hardy.

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"Then I just wanted to hear Rory read [Edward Lear's] 'The Jumblies' - I can't think of anything more delightful!"

Kinnear is looking forward to the performance. "It's something you don't get to do that often as an actor but I think most poems gain from being read out loud," he says. "There is slightly more expect­ation from an audience to have their ears tickled by the sounds of it rather than just enjoying the meaning."

For the next concert in the series, Drake will bring together the Doric String Quartet and tenor Toby Spence for another thematic programme titled On This Island, which will feature British works including Vaughan Williams' song cycle of AE Housman poems, On Wenlock Edge, and Elgar's Piano Quintet in A minor. And the series will conclude in October with the bass Sir Willard White revelling in his enthusiasm for American song: Porter, Gershwin, Copland and Ives.

Known as "Julius Drake and Friends", the Temple Song events at Middle Temple Hall feel at once grander and more intimate than many other recitals. These concerts enjoy a loyal following but struggle to attract new audiences. However, Padmore is evangelical. "These remain special events," he says, "[But] I think you've got to encourage people to know you can enter these courtyards and that it's going to be eye-watering when you get inside."

'The Sea', Middle Temple Hall, London, April 29, templemusic.org

Photograph: Benjamin Ealovega

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