John Paul Jones performed new music in a small live performance in a church in North Yorkshire on June 4.

Jones joined the Amores Pasados band for their Swaledale Festival performance in St. Andrew’s Church in the village of Grinton, North Yorkshire on June 4. Jones played mandolin during the show, but was also photographed rehearsing with a lute (above).

The festival website said that Jones premiered new music during the performance. Here’s the event description:

An unconventional meeting of the old and the new, this extraordinary project bridges the gap between art song and pop song. Led by long-time Hilliard Ensemble tenor John Potter, the programme contains delightful settings of music by Thomas Campion and Josquin Desprez and the only surviving piece by the Renaissance composer Picforth. There are songs from the twentieth century by Arvo Pärt, E.J. Moeran and Peter Warlock. And to complete the programme, the legendary Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks and Sting have been commissioned to write new lute songs especially for this project: Banks set 17th century poems by Thomas Campion, Jones chose poems from Spanish literature – one of which will receive its world premiere here – and Sting’s Bury me deep in the Greenwood incorporates his own lyrics. Stunningly beautiful music in the perfect setting of Grinton Church.

Band member John Potter wrote on his website that the new song Jones wrote for the band is called “Cradle song” and described it as “absolutely ravishing.” It’s based on this poem by William Blake.

You can view photographs of the performance on the Gullwing Photography blog.

https://twitter.com/GullwingPhoto/status/871509839704444929

Jones also posted a photograph of himself during the performance on his Facebook page.