NEW for 2026 A guided tour of the National Portrait Gallery in song, symphony and swing
The National Portrait Gallery presents the story of our nation in a vividly curated pageant of faces. But what is the soundtrack to this pageant?
From Tudor times to the 20th century, this new tour goes off in search of music in the history of Britain… often finding it in unlikely places.
Along the way we will ask…
Was King Henry VIII a songwriter?
Did Cromwell really abolish music?
What role did xenophobia and money play in the birth of the stage musical?
Why did Handel end up in London?
How did Black blues and jazz wash up on the banks of the river Thames in suburban West London?
Side One
We’ll consider the importance of music to the image conscious Tudors, and bust a myth about Kjng Henry VIII’s songwriting chops. The flowering of creativity that is the Restoration period will certainly give us something to sing about, followed by a period of theatrical stagnation in the 1720s… to which music will prove the antidote. Side one ends in the 19th Century as it began in the 16th – looking for music in the royal household.
Side Two
In the maelstrom of the 20th Century gallery, we look at the roles of technology and war in the dissemination of music. The tour will end up in the ever-changing late 20th century gallery for a greatest hits finale. And who will feature in this part of the tour? Well, the kaleidoscopic nature of the collection in this section of the exhibition means that the tour will be different every time. Just like an evening of great live music where no two performances can be identical.
(This gallery tour makes an excellent companion piece with the Musical Statues walking tour)
For all my non-music themed walking tours visit the famous London Walks company HERE.