Alive with musical exchange, 18th-century Vienna was known as a city where composers, performers and patrons moved within the same close-knit circles, sharing ideas as readily as they shared the stage. Joseph Haydn Symphony No.6 “Le Matin” Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Keyboard Concerto Wq. 20 in C Marianna Martines Sinfonia in C Major Wolfgang Amadeus […]
In the early 18th century, the Amsterdam printing house of Estienne Roger and his successor Michel de la Cène became a vital hub for the dissemination of music across Europe. Giuseppe Torelli Sinfonia a3 Op.5 No.2 in C Arcangelo Corelli Sonata da Chiesa Op.3 No.1 in F Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger Canarios, Book 4 Pietro Antonio Locatelli Sonata […]
In 18th-century London, the operatic stage was as much a site of social spectacle as of musical innovation, shaped by star performers, fashionable audiences and the ambitions of a rapidly expanding cultural scene and at its centre stood Handel. George Frideric Handel Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.6 Torni omai la pace from Tolomeo No, più soffrir […]
George Frideric Handel Messiah, HWV 56 Matthew Truscott violin & director Rowan Pierce soprano Anita Monserrat mezzo-soprano Ed Lyon tenor Marcus Farnsworth baritone It’s no surprise that Handel’s Messiah continues to draw audiences back year after year. There is nothing quite like it. Although the Hallelujah chorus has become the work’s calling card, Handel wrote […]
Bach’s Matthew Passion was first performed on Good Friday 1727. Amidst the drama of betrayal, trial, judgement, and crucifixion, there runs a thread of love, both human and divine. Johann Sebastian Bach Matthew Passion, BWV 244 John Butt director & harpsichord Anna Dennis soprano James Hall countertenor Nicholas Mulroy Evangelist Matthew Brook Christus RSNO youth […]
Throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries, Italian composers transformed string writing into one of Europe’s most influential musical languages. Alessandro Stradella Sinfonia in D Johann Rosenmüller Sinfonia Prima in F Giovanni Legrenzi Sonata “La Cremona” Op.8 No.10 in C Antonio Vivaldi Concerto for 4 violins RV 550 Arcangelo Corelli Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.2 in […]
A young Handel travelled to Italy, immersing himself in a musical world shaped by composers such as Caldara and Lotti. Antonio Caldara Introduzione from L’olimpiade Antonio Lotti Missa Sancti Christophori George Frideric Handel Dixit Dominus HWV 232 John Butt director & harpsichord Hilary Cronin soprano Helen Charlston mezzo-soprano Dunedin Consort side by side with students […]
