In a landmark year for the Stour Music Festival, director Mark Deller, above, spoke to Chris Price about the legacy of the festival founder – his father Alfred Deller

Two counter-tenor concerts will honour the founder of the Stour Music Festival, Alfred Deller, as the two-week event reaches its 50th anniversary.

This year would also have been Alfred’s 100th birthday and counter-tenor Andreas Scholl will make his first Stour appearance as part of the early music festival’s celebrations on Friday, June 29.

After his concert of lute songs at Boughton Aluph Church, near Ashford, he will stay over for a counter-tenor extravaganza the following night, where he will be joined by eight other distinguished voices including Iestyn Davies, Michael Chance and Robin Blaze.

Before his death in 1979, Margate-born Alfred was responsible for reviving the counter-tenor voice, which had been out of fashion for 200 years.

“It has been very significant,” said his son Mark, who is the Stour’s festival director. “He died very prematurely – he was only 67 – and he made such an impact on the early music world.

“He is with me all the time as I spent much of my early professional career as a singer working with him. The repertoire of pieces we are doing is all very typical of the things he was associated with. He was a landmark performer.”

As a prelude to the festival two concerts were held on what would have been Alfred’s birthday at the end of last month. Recordings of his voice were played at the church and a memorial tree was planted outside.

“It went well,” said Mark, who lives in Wye. “It was nice to have him singing in the church again after 33 years.”

The early music festival is not all about Alfred and counter-tenors. Ex Cathedra and Philomel perform on the opening night on Friday, June 22 and the Hilliard Ensemble perform English renaissance church music on Saturday, June 23. After music from late renaissance Ferrara from the Gonzaga Band at 10pm that night, Handel’s English drama Acis & Galatea will be performed from 3pm on Sunday, June 24.

The festival finishes with Bach’s Mass in B minor on Sunday, July 1.

Mark said: “When he began the festival in 1962, if my father had thought it would still be running 50 years later I am sure he would have been surprised and delighted.

“The very first one was a one-day festival of four or five concerts, done on a wing and a prayer. There was no committee of any sort and at the end of the day a few of us sat round and counted the cost. We had lost eight and sixpence in old money and my dad put his hat in the middle of the sitting room and we all threw in our lose change to cover the cost of the deficit.”

Things have changed greatly since then, with the festival costing £120,000, of which £40,000 is raised through sponsors.

“We also have lots of volunteers who help,” said Mark. “It is a big operation now.”

The Stour Music Festival runs from Friday, June 22 to Sunday, July 1 at Boughton Aluph Church, near Ashford. Tickets £12 to £25. Box office 05603 434123 or visit www.stourmusic.org.uk.