http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/baroque-unwrapped

Contributors  

edward higginbottom is the celebrated former director of the Choir of New College Oxford, now Emeritus Fellow, New College. At Kings Place he conducts Oxford’s new Baroque orchestra, Instruments of Time and Truth

mahan esfahani is a leading young harpsichordist, BBC Music Magazine’s Newcomer of the Year 2015. He recently signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon

rachel podger is Britain’s foremost Baroque violinist and director of Brecon Baroque

simon heighes is a writer and broadcaster specialising in the Baroque period, and architect of the reconstruction of Bach’s St Mark Passion

mary collins is an early dance specialist, working in dance, theatre, opera and TV as a choreographer, dancer, lecturer and actress

julian perkins is a conductor and harpsichordist, and director of Sounds Baroque

john butt obe is Gardiner Professor of Music at Glasgow University, Director of the Dunedin Consort and author of Playing with History (CUP)

david hansen is an Australian countertenor with an international opera career. His latest CD is Rivals, on the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi label

ashley solomon is a distinguished flautist, director of Florilegium and guest conductor of the Arakaendar Bolivia Choir, both of whom record for Channel Classics, and Chair of Historical Performance at the Royal College of Music

hugo ticciati is a violinist and conductor based in Sweden. He is artistic director of O/Modernt Festival and director of the O/MODERNT Kammarorkester

What do a German coffee pot, an Italian castration implement and a French high-heeled dancing shoe have to tell us about the music of the Baroque? As it happens, a great deal. It was in the coffee house that the public concert was born in Germany, coffee being stimulating but not inebriating. The act of castration

was shockingly cruel, but the voices and skills of these singing stars inspired composers to ever more virtuosic flights. And the high-heeled shoe? It led to a proliferation of specific dances which went on to inform the rhetoric of instrumental music. Browse through these ‘object lessons’ in music history, written by our performers and lecturers, for a lateral view of this well-loved repertoire.

In Baroque Unwrapped, the eighth edition of our year-long series, we explore a period of seismic change and creativity in music, from lute songs of the post-Renaissance period right through to Baroque masterpieces from Bach, Couperin, Handel, Monteverdi and Vivaldi, as well as some recently-uncovered Bolivian Masses and a specially-commissioned new ‘pasticcio’. As ever, we also embrace composers who drew inspiration from this theme, from Haydn, Mozart and Mendelssohn to jazz improvisers, contemporary composers, Metallica and Muse.

I’m delighted to welcome the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Aurora Orchestra, Oxford Baroque, the Dunedin Consort, Concerto Italiano, Geneva Camerata, the Avison and Feinstein Ensembles, King’s College Choir, The Sixteen, Rachel Podger, Hugo Ticciati, Daria van den Bercken, Richard Tunnicliffe, Jonathan and Catherine Manson, Mahan Esfahani, David Hansen, Dame Emma Kirkby and so many more; I hope you’ll join them in celebrating this glorious feast of Baroque music …

Peter Millican

6

‘The courtiers were seeing the State in all its Might and Glory paraded before them’

edward higginbottom

HierarCHy &magnifiCenCe

Louis XIII clearly had a high opinion of himself, but it paled beside Louis XIV’s sense of self-importance. Perhaps it would be fairer to say that Louis XIV genuinely considered himself

the most powerful of God’s servants on earth. As such, he was determined that everything that orbited his sun-like countenance should reflect his brilliance and majesty. If the French style, as a national commodity, had been fashioned in the earlier part of the seventeenth century, Louis XIV was responsible for upholding its values and propagating them to the point where no other way was admitted. Le Cerf de la Viéville tells the story of the King being deeply unimpressed by a visiting Italian virtuoso, and calling over one of his 24 violons to point to his style: ‘plus lié, plus suivi’ (smoother, more connected). There was, for sure, a tendency, well caught in Le Cerf’s critique of Italian and French styles (Comparason de la musique italienne et de la musique françoise, 1704–06), towards a grand simplicity, a powerful understatement, a controlled exuberance of decoration. The party line eschewed the caprices and exaggerations of the Italians, whether singers or violinists.

As Louis XIV consolidated his kingship, he saw that all the arts, up to and including garden design and medallion manufacture, needed to be brought under his aegis and control. These things, after

all, were there to serve him and his magnificence. It was Charles IX who in 1570 assumed the role of ‘first listener’, to imprint his authority over the newly formed Académie de Poésie et de Musique. (1672), the institution through which Jean-Baptiste Lully from 1673, enjoying a virtual monopoly of French theatre music, wrote his annual tragédie en musique. An engraving of the Versailles performance of Alceste in 1674 speaks volumes about the relationship developing between the king and his music: there he is, viewing the opera from a huge chair set absolutely in the middle of the spectators, but well separated from them in clear manifestation of his rank, and role as ‘chief listener,’ the final arbiter of taste. Not that he simply listened. He would have critiqued Quinault’s libretto before Lully got to work, and shown a lively interest in the preparation of the most lavish scenic display found anywhere in Europe, indeed throughout the world, at that time. The stage was dressed in the most stupendous décor; the singers in sumptuous costume, the dancers in a brilliant and controlled corps de ballet. And as the courtiers gazed on this miraculous scene, they were seeing the State in all its Might and Glory paraded before them, their Sun King lauded in the stories of heroic magnanimity which made up the content of Lully’s operas. For some it might simply have seemed that the seventeenth-century French court was drowning in bling; for the majority this was a proper and rightful epiphany of the most powerful realm on earth – while it lasted.

7

Staging of Lully’s ‘Alceste’ at Versailles in 1674, unknown, engraving

sun 31 Jan

FlorilegiumMusic at the

Court of Frederick the Great

sun 6 mar

elizabeth WallFisch & Friends

Un concert des splendides

et des folies

fri 22 apr

the choir oF king’s college & hanover band

Handel: Brockes-Passion

sat 7 may

study day: hoW to be hiP Clare Salaman with

Professor Richard Wistreich & Dr David McGuinness

fri 25 nov

instruments oF time & truth +

edWard higginbottomLe Coucher du soleil:

Music from the last years of Louis XIV and the Dauphin

sat 26 nov

orchestra oF the age oF enlightenment

Hymne à la Vierge: Charpentier and his Contemporaries

8

Gold, baroque pearl, enamel and diamond pendant, Southern Italian, seventeenth century

ornament

‘What we call an ornament is inseperable from the work of art ’

mahan esfahani

99

Rather than taking a purely aesthetic view of this pendant, let us step back and ask ourselves what a man or woman of the Baroque period would see in it. Where would the ‘ornamental’

vs. the ‘functional’ be delineated? Is it even possible to divorce ornament from function? What implicit value judgments are there in the word ‘ornament’?

It is futile, for a musician at least, even to try to describe what is occurring in this piece. The activity occurring around the central item – in this case, an irregular ‘baroque’ pearl – is so considerable that we are at liberty to take any node as a starting point; this is not unlike a fugue or a work with similarly complex counterpoint. With such an intimidating level of complexity, sometimes verging on the bizarre, it should come as no surprise that the word ‘Baroque’ was a post-hoc invention, critiquing the perceived irregularity and eccentricity of the period’s art. Perhaps we should question that, both as producers of and as listeners to music, by engaging from the perspectives of craft and technique. This is the starting point for all else, and the true meaning of historical performance, which exists hand-in-hand with historical listening and historical thinking.

Even the most casual listener has heard all sorts of things about the importance of ornamentation in the Baroque repertoire. Well, let’s take another

word which the French used: agréments. It is not entirely possible to give a satisfying translation for this word in English, but the idea of a pleasant integration with the rhetorical intent of a piece of music is implied. In other words: what we call an ornament is inextricable from the work of art!

As with listening to music or reading literature, we must start with works that exemplify the tropes and patterns exploited by those outliers whom we call ‘geniuses’. This overwhelming piece of jewellery testifies to the skills learnt in the jeweller’s trade from a young age: the selection of precious stones of various sizes, their eventual setting, the gracefulness of all that is forged by hand, the general effortlessness of the entire endeavour which is meant to make the viewer forget as much craft as possible. It is this other aspect of the craftsman’s expertise – the art of dissimulation and disguise – which contributes further to our view of how the people of this period defined genius.

To see the innovative and the irregular as the sole benchmarks for defining genius is a modern habit, since what we call ‘art’ has over time lost its immediate connection to function. The people of the past, connected as they were with craft on a level largely foreign to us, would have appreciated proficiency as much as ingenuity in acclaiming the work of a jeweller – or, for that matter, a composer.

sun 31 Jan

FlorilegiumMusic at the

Court of Frederick the Great

sat 2 apr 

bach: the viola da gamba

sonatasJonathan Manson & Steven Devine

  

sat 2 apr 

bach: the goldberg variationsSteven Devine

 

sat 21 may 

daria van den berckenHandel and

Scarlatti at the Keyboard

  

sun 13 nov 

levon chilingirian

& FriendsBach:

The Musical Offering

 

tHu 8 DeC

mahan esFahani

& avi avitalScarlatti, Vivaldi, Bach & Couperin

10

The beauty and perfection of Stradivari’s work is striking in all his stringed instruments: here is a beautifully decorated violin made by him in 1683, now housed in Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.

By the time Stradivari began making violins in 1666, the basic structure of the violin had been established for about a hundred years. Its function and popularity had already changed throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, elevating its social status from a lowly, useful instrument, which accompanied dancing and doubled vocal lines in polyphonic sacred music, to a fully-fledged solo instrument capable of transcendent expression by the eighteenth century. The viol had already enjoyed the attention of the aristocracy before 1600, as Jambe de Fer writes: ‘We call viols those [instruments] with which gentlemen, merchants, and other virtuous people pass their time ... The other type [of instrument] is called violin; it is commonly used for dancing.’ Épitome Musical, 1556

But by 1640 a different kind of appreciation of the violin’s capabilities is stated extravagantly by G. B. Doni in Rome: ‘In sum, in the hand of a skilful player, the violin represents the sweetness of the lute, the suavity of the viol, the majesty of the harp, the force of the trumpet, the vivacity of the fife, the sadness of the flute, the pathetic quality of the cornett; as if every variety, as in the great edifice of the organ, is heard with marvellous artifice.’ Annotazioni sopra il Compendio de’ generi, e de’ modi della musica

At the beginning of the seventeenth century violinist composers such as Marini and Uccellini helped develop the idiomatic potential of the violin in connection with the instrumental sonata and related forms. In fact, the technique of playing the instrument became the subject of considerable attention and experimentation. Different bowing approaches were discussed and many different types of bow-strokes were developed. Scale passages made their way into music and there became a much greater use of rapid figurations and movement to positions above the first and basic left-hand position. Vibrato and dynamic nuance were not only used, but notated occasionally in the interests of expression. Above all the voice was regarded as the model of tone, especially in cantabile passages, taking full advantage of the rich sonorities available to a skilled player. Here is my favourite quote (which continually serves as an inspiration) extolling the virtues of the violin: ‘... the beauties and graces that are practised on it are so great in number that it can be preferred to all other instruments, since the strokes of the bow are sometimes so delightful that one has a great discontent to hear the end, particularly when they are mixed with ornamentations of the left hand which force the listener to confess the violin to be the king of the instruments.’Marin Mersenne: Harmonie universelle, 1636–7

rachel podger

violin

11

sat 16 Jan 

study day: all about baroque

with the Orchestra of the Age of

Enlightenment

tHu 17 mar 

camerata alma viva

Vivaldi Explosion: The Four Seasons

Reinvented

fri 1 apr

bach: the great Partita For solo violin

Catherine Manson JS Bach: Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004

tHu 15 sep

rachel PodgerPerla Barocca

tHu 24 nov

rachel Podger & the oae

Suites et Sonates

fri 9 DeC

concerto italiano

Hidden Gems: Trio SonatasViolin ‘Cipriani Potter’, Antonio Stradivari, 1683

‘In the hand of a skilful player, the violin represents the sweetness of the lute, the suavity of the viol, the majesty of the harp,

the force of the trumpet’

12

Orpheus and Cerberus, statuette, Hendrick de Keyser, Bronze, Dutch, c1610–1615

simon heighes

affeCt  & lyriCism

13

Orpheus stands gazing upwards, immersed in his playing; the hell-hound Cerberus, captivated by the music, lies tamely at his feet. The sculptor doesn’t just want us to look, he also

invites us to listen, to enter into the emotion of the moment. So it was with music too. From the second half of the sixteenth century composers began to pay more attention to the words they were setting and the power they had to evoke emotions. It was the logical outcome of that typical Renaissance activity – looking back to the Greeks and Romans for inspiration. Humanist scholars hypothesised that Greek tragedies were semi-sung throughout and, taking on board Plato’s belief in the supremacy of the word over the note, they encouraged musicians to experiment to see how these ideas could be recreated with contemporary compositional resources. What they improvised in the Renaissance began to be written down in the Baroque.

The stage was set for the birth of opera, and Orpheus was its first star. He was soon joined by the whole pantheon of Classical characters who rapidly found themselves bending to the will of political subtext and allegory. At a time when non-stop Grand Tours provided a tangible Classical paradise for the English aristocracy, Ovid’s tale of Acis and Galatea served to flatter the cultured and underline the status quo, painting the reign of George I as a Golden Age of elegance, humour and justice, in which the established order is always restored – just like the metamorphosis which transfigures Acis into a river. Musically, Handel’s jewel-like arias show us how composers liked to

condense their thoughts into musical soliloquies exploring a single emotional state. To project these singular ‘affects’ or ‘passions’ as powerfully as possible they might intensify their texts with rhetorical figures derived from Classical oratory and draw on lyrical styles whose phraseology could encapsulate whole worlds of human feeling.

The Church was quick to harness the drama and lyricism of this evolving musical language. Venice revelled in the theatrical interplay of music and architecture in St Mark’s, while also cultivating sensual solo motets whose curvilinear lines perfectly captured the eroticism of texts from the Old Testament Song of Songs. In Rome the spirit of the Counter Reformation inspired colossal polychoral structures and, crucially, the birth of oratorio, coupling the oratory of recitative with the emotional focus of the aria, and turning operatic language to evangelical purpose.

Orpheus plays on, transported. The embodiment of music’s power over the passions, he projects an image of single-minded emotional focus, at once dramatically involving and lyrically uplifting.

13

‘Orpheus stands, immersed in his playing; the hell-hound Cerberus, captivated by the

music, lies tamely at his feet’

tHu 14 Jan 

orchestra oF the age oF

enlightenment Monteverdi, Grandi

& Cavalli

fri 15 Jan 

emma kirkby & Jacob lindberg The Golden Age Revived

fri 12 feb

FretWork Passacaille

sat 2 apr

bach: mass in b minor

The Feinstein Ensemble with The London

Bach Singers

sat 7 may 

the sixteenHandel: Acis & Galatea

fri 16 sep

the sixteenGems of the Italian and

Portuguese Baroque

tue 20 DeC

dunedin consort

Handel’s Messiah

14

When King Louis XIV stepped out in high-heeled shoes, he could not have guessed the impact it would have upon the evolution of both music and dance.

The ‘Baroque shoe’, with elevated heels, was designed specifically for the mighty French ruler, who was rather diminutive in height. Naturally, the royal shoes became the sought-after fashion amongst the French nobility. As the French were arbiters of taste, culture and elegance in Europe, other countries followed.

The new fashion generated a transformation in genteel society – on the dance floor. Louis XIV, a fine dancer, was such an advocate of the art that he was alleged to have interrupted meetings on state affairs in order to attend courante lessons with his dancing master. Louis’s talents were frequently on display in entertainments known as ballets de cour, spectacular displays of music, dance and song, designed to convey the King’s power and magnificence, especially to foreign visitors.

Hitherto, Italy had led the way in Europe in terms of choreographic sophistication; its steps and techniques were based upon rhetorical precepts that reflected the music’s rhythm and affect. Musical accent and phrasing were achieved by the raising and lowering of the heels, which produced a regal undulating, peacocking style. Now there was a problem … the new high-heeled design minimised any musical accent a dancer sought to produce through demi-pointe: he was already ‘up’ on the heel of his shoe. To achieve the same effect he was forced to bend the knees before making the step – in a manner we know now as a plié.

A turned-out leg was also required to distribute the balance of the body, now thrown forward by the heel – and to present the strong calf muscles of male dancers to advantage.

Fortuitously, the subtlety and complexity of footwork and rhythm which could now be exhibited generated a

mary collins

DanCing sHoes

15

virtuosic style in which the dancer became another line of the music: dancer and musician co-existed in a complete ensemble.

La belle danse, as this style was designated, imbued individual dances with specific caractères to differentiate them. The courante, a dance of majestic display, might be followed by a bourrée expressing simple pleasure, a sarabande – a dance of smouldering passion – or the sheer unbridled joy of a gigue. In consequence, composers were required to capture these ‘personalities’ in their music, both for dramatic effect and to evoke appropriate moods to suit the occasion.

Jean-Baptiste Lully, an accomplished dancer and musician, wrote music with clear dance ‘footprints’ easily discerned in his rhythms, phrasing and orchestration. André Campra and Jean-Philippe Rameau refined the genre, while François Couperin, Arcangelo Corelli and JS Bach took dance beyond the physical – the instrumental suite was born. A small step for a shoe, a huge leap for music!

Women’s yellow silk buckle latchet shoes with a needlepoint toe, 1730s

‘ The “Baroque shoe”, with elevated heels, was designed specifically for Louis XIV, who was

rather diminutive in height’

sun 14 feb 

the French dancing masters

A Practical Workshop on Baroque Dance with Mary Collins

& Florilegium

sun 3 apr 

bach: the comPlete

suites For solo cello

Richard Tunnicliffe

bach, telemann, handel: the orchestral

suitesThe Feinstein Ensemble

Martin Feinstein director, flute, recorder

tHu 19 may 

geneva camerata

Balkan-Baroque!

tHu 20 oCt 

christoPh denoth

& sacconi quartetVivaldi, Bach & Boccherini

16

‘He takes other men’s pebbles and polishes them into diamonds.’ So said Boyce of Handel’s now notorious habit of incorporating music by other composers into his own works. But was such

musical alchemy an unusual practice in the Baroque period?

Not at all! Unlike today, when copyright laws aim to prohibit such ‘plagiarism’, many Baroque composers recycled their material in their own works – and even felt flattered when their colleagues used their musical ‘pebbles’ (without acknowledgment) in their own pieces. With some notable exceptions, many eighteenth century composers seemed relatively unconcerned about securing a legacy. Penning a work back then was like crafting a piece of handmade furniture, far-removed from the Romantic notion of creating an original masterpiece. It was functional: in circulation for a few weeks or months, before being relegated to the archives in favour of something more current.

Such a culture poses fascinating questions. What do we mean by an ‘Urtext’ edition? In how many versions can a single work exist, and how comfortable are we about accepting that some works are by more than one composer? Enter, the pasticcio. An Italian word for a ‘pie’ – or even a ‘mess’ – pasticci were popular theatrical entertainments throughout the Baroque era and beyond. Concocted from various works, frequently by different composers, and sometimes in a mix of languages. (Look at our example from the British Library, The Summer’s Tale, a confection for

Covent Garden’s Theatre Royal, featuring no fewer than sixteen composers, Bach rubbing shoulders with Arne, Hasse and Giardin). Recitatives were usually composed by the compiler (akin to the story-lines of Mamma Mia! or Jersey Boys) to act as compositional glue in linking arias in often disparate keys, and there was little concern about the musical authorship of such creations. At a time when singers (especially castrati) were the undisputed stars, these patchwork quilts enabled impresarios to attract the best performers with a catwalk of impressive arias. Plots were largely secondary concerns, and the bigger the stars’ egos the fewer the number of ensemble pieces. Singers themselves often insisted on performing their own showpieces – or ‘baggage arias’ – the castrato Luigi Marchesi even refusing to appear in any opera unless he made his first entry on horseback while singing his favourite aria! But let’s not assume that such decadence is confined to the Baroque; not until Mahler’s legendary tenure at the Vienna State Opera at the turn of the twentieth century was the ‘baggage aria’ famously returned to sender.

Baroque Unwrapped provides a rare opportunity for Sounds Baroque and me to explore this pliable approach to music by devising a pasticcio about Casanova. A violinist, dancer and writer (besides many other things), the irrepressible Casanova was surely the most colourful chronicler of the eighteenth century. Casanova’s Conquest will recount the sensational events surrounding his ultimate conquest: his return to Venice in 1774 after eighteen years of exile. Including works by Gluck, Hasse and Mozart, we can’t wait to cook our own pie …

julian perkins

pastiCCio

17

Title-plate from The Summer’s Tale, A Musical Comedy by Richard Cumberland, London, 1765

‘These musical patchwork quilts enabled impresarios to attract the best performers with a catwalk of impressive arias’

fri 6 may 

sounds baroque

Casanova’s Conquest: The Tradition

of the Pasticcio

Programme to include works by Hasse, Porpora, Gluck, Handel and Mozart

18

‘The new coffee houses stimulated debate and discussion in ways that were both more charged and less befuddled than those of the alehouses’

Coffee pot

Controversy about their global finances aside, coffee establishments have been associated with the internet revolution that has so greatly increased social participation in

the issues of our day. Back in the mid-seventeenth century, when coffee first started to percolate into Europe and the American colonies, the cultural change it brought was arguably even more striking. The new coffee houses stimulated debate in ways that were both more charged and less befuddled than those of the alehouses, creating an arena for public discourse that had never previously been possible. Here, people from a variety of backgrounds could mix, debate and experiment, free from established authorities and political interference. Arguably then, the coffee houses formed the cradle of the Enlightenment itself, permitting and stimulating new ideas among people who were judged more on the strength of their arguments than on their background or status.

Coffee houses were also extremely important in the development of public concert culture. While in London it was the enterprising violinist John Bannister who first initiated a commercial concert series in his own house in 1672, in Germany it was in the coffee houses that a more organised form of public music-making burgeoned – music-making that lay outside the traditional venues of church and court. In some cases the musicians formed the core of what later became concert orchestras, some of which survive today. Given the discursive and fertile atmosphere of the early Enlightenment coffee house, music played a part in the thinking of

the time, modelling, mimicking or parodying the types of debate that were daily taking place. It may well be that this role of music gradually diminished as concert culture became separated from the coffee-house, eventually operating in the autonomous zone of the concert hall, as with the French ‘Concert Spirituel’ series founded in the Tuileries Palace in 1725, and imitated across Europe.

No composer was more intimately connected with coffee-house performance than J S Bach, who took over one of Leipzig’s collegia musica in 1729, maintaining his directorial role – with one interruption – until the early 1740s. With this he provided regular weekly concerts (more often during the Leipzig fairs) under the auspices of Gottfried Zimmermann’s coffee house and associated gardens. It seems that he covered an astonishingly wide range of music, including modern operatic repertory and the newest concertos and overtures. Most of Bach’s surviving secular cantatas (essentially unstaged operas) were associated with this coffee house and it seems that he may have performed more music on a weekly basis with his collegium musicum than he did with his Leipzig church Kantorei. His association with Zimmermann’s would have brought him into contact with the intellectual heart of Leipzig life, but also given him closer association with the growing commercial classes of this prosperous town. With the closure of its short-lived opera house just before his arrival in the town, Bach became for a while the supreme purveyor of Leipzig’s music, through his dominance of both church and coffee house.

john butt

19

Coffee pot and lid, pewter, German, eighteenth century

sat 10 DeC

come and sing With david

WordsWorthBach’s Magnificat

and other seasonal works

sat 10 DeC

oxFord baroqueBach’s Christmas

Vespers

sat 16 Jan

aurora orchestra

& John butt‘Bach is the father,

we are the children’

tHu 11 feb

oxFord baroque a neW song:

Bach and the German Motet

fri 1 apr

bach: concertos

and cantatasThe Feinstein Ensemble

with The London Bach Singers

sun 13 nov

levon chilingirian

& FriendsBach: The Musical Offering

  

20

Two ‘castratori’, instruments of the type used to castrate young boys, Italian, c 1700.

david hansen

Castrato

fri 30 sep 

avison ensembleThe Concerto

in England: Handel and his Contemporaries

tHu 13 oCt 

brodsky quartet & david hansen

Encountertenor

sat 7 may 

the sixteenHandel:

Acis and Galatea

 

2121

The phenomenon of castratio euphonica (first recorded in fourth-century Byzantium) reached Italy around the mid-sixteenth century. In 1589, the choir of St Peter’s, Rome was

reorganised to include castrati, who continued there until 1914. By the 1730s some four thousand boys a year were being emasculated in the service of art, and the voice-type dominated Italian opera until the end of the eighteenth century.

Much like a lottery, poor families would offer one of their boys to be castrated in the hope it would lead to riches borne out of a successful operatic career. For the few who made it, there were thousands who didn’t. Some of those sang in choirs, while those who weren’t good enough were ostracised by society. There are also many sad stories of botched castrations that left the unfortunate children deformed and even mute.

It’s clear when you look at the challenging, virtuosic music of the great castrati that there was only one way they could sing it: technique, technique, technique! In the special schools founded for this purpose, years were spent on breathing and technical exercises before these star pupils were allowed to set foot on stage.

The famous Farinelli and his contemporaries – Caffarelli, Carestini, Senesino among them – were renowned not just for their beautiful, unique voices but for their extraordinary techniques. Breath control, musicality, stagecraft and tessitura are all attributes referred to by critics of the time. Stamina was also needed, as they were required

to sing, for example, back-to-back arias of more than twenty minutes with a range of three octaves. The training of these singers coincided with the rise of opera and ‘star’ soloists, who drove forward the art form.

The top castrati inspired some of the greatest music to come out of the Baroque period. Their celebrity, too, must surely have been a spur to composers and impresarios: with a star castrato or two in one of Handel’s casts, the opera was almost guaranteed success.

For a while, in Rome and parts of the Papal States, women were banned from appearing on stage. As a result, the castrati flourished in opera, their natural, boyish complexions enabling them to take on both male and female roles. Elsewhere, however, they commonly appeared alongside female singers of equal reknown.

I remember as a teenager hearing the recording of the last castrato, Alessandro Moreschi, who died in 1922: he makes an eerily beautiful and tragic sound.

The contemporary phenomenon of the countertenor owes much to the pioneering Alfred Deller, who rose to fame in the mid- twentieth century after being ‘discovered’ by Michael Tippett. The success we enjoy today is thanks to the dedication and hard work of the great countertenors since Deller, who’ve contributed their unique voices and musicianship to revive this extraordinary repertoire.

‘Poor families would offer one of their boys to be castrated in the hope it would lead to riches

borne out of a successful operatic career’

22

‘This angel was crafted by a local artisan from Concepción, home to one of the largest mission churches’

In 1705 Bach famously walked more than 250 miles to hear Buxtehude play the organ in Lübeck; Italian musicians flocked to London in the first quarter of the eighteenth century,

performing stage works by the new German immigrant GF Handel. However, these distances pale into insignificance when we consider the 6,500 miles covered by musicians and Jesuit missionaries, sent out from Rome and other European centres to the New World, Paraguay and Bolivia in particular. It was here that a most remarkable musical culture was established which, until years ago, was practically unknown in Europe.

The Jesuits arrived in Paraguay and moved inland towards Bolivia as early as the late sixteenth century, eventually establishing mission churches deep in the Bolivian jungle. By the time they were expelled in 1767 there were no fewer than 24 such churches, built with the sole purpose of converting the local indigenous Indians to Christianity. These ‘cathedrals in the jungle’, built from wood and sun-dried bricks, were equipped with carved altars, scores of wooden angels, musical instruments (violins, cello, organs, flutes and bassoons) all built by the locals, as well as numerous musical compositions. This particular angel was crafted by a local artisan from Concepción, home to one of the largest mission churches, approximately 200 miles from Santa Cruz, the east of the country. The church was originally built in the 1740s, restored under Hans Roth in the 1970s, and has since become a World Heritage Site. This artisan’s family have lived in Concepción for many generations and

have been responsible for all the wonderful wood carvings that adorn this church.

The Jesuits both brought a new means of cultural expression to the missions and adapted to the existing cultures of the native peoples. Here an artistic synthesis between the missionaries and the native inhabitants developed; fascinating microcosms were created – mission societies that were at once European and non-European, knitted together by a unifying spiritual theme, especially evident in its artistic and musical expression. This intensive interaction created an enriched Baroque art with a new aspect, not simply an imitation of European models, which became known by many as ‘missional’ Baroque.

The Jesuits struggled initially to communicate with the indigenous population. As the Indians spoke no Spanish, the Jesuits introduced them to Christian doctrine through music, initially using examples by composers like Vivaldi, Corelli, Balbi, Locatelli, Zipoli and Brentner. Soon these scores were being copied, arranged and often simplified by local musicians trained in the missions. Many new vocal compositions in native Indian languages have been discovered in the last ten years, preserved in the archives and performed during daily Masses held in each mission church. Today over 12,500 pages of manuscripts from this period have been collected from the Churches of Santa Ana and San Rafael in the Chiquitos region and San Ignacio in the Moxos region. The extraordinary history of the Jesuit missions has bequeathed us an incredible legacy of art, language and literature, architecture and music.

ashley solomon

baroque travels

23

Eighteenth-century carved head of an angel figurine for the Jesuit church in Concepción, South American hardwood, Bolivia (replica. 2006)

sat 1 oCt

study day: bolivian baroque

with Ashley Solomon & Piotr Nawrot

sat 1 oCt

Florilegium & guests: bolivian baroque

Music from the Missions

24

‘The age of the basso continuo supplied a wealth of musical pearls for modern rock musicians to reshape’

A Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum, 7-inch vinyl, French, 1967

hugo ticciati

baroque to   tHe future

tHu 14 Jan

the nightshiFtMonteverdi

sat 13 feb

dan tePFer The Goldberg

Variations

 

sat 22 oCto/modernt

kammarorkesterVivaldi Rocks!

Gut Strings and Metal

sun 4 DeC

red PriestBetter Red Than Dead

fri 18 mar

christoPh richterVivaldi, Mozart, Haydn

tHu 21 apr

thomas gould & gWilym simcock

Baroque Encounters

 

fri 20 may 

trio aPoriaCorps sonore

tHu 29 sep

FitzWilliam quartet & Friends

Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater + The Purcell Inspirations

25

Doesn’t the descending bass-line in ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ (1967) remind you of something? Is it not the same as that of Bach’s ‘Air on a G String’ or is it the Largo from the Harpsichord

Concerto, BWV 1056? Have a listen …

While specific borrowings and quotations can provide the material for entertaining after-dinner party games, there’s a genuine fascination in the peculiar similarities between music written 300 years ago and the rock music of the twentieth century. The Beatles, Procol Harum, Percy Sledge, Queen, Sting and many more did not look to the luscious harmonies and expansive melodies of nineteenth-century Romanticism for inspiration. They turned instead to the groove of a recurring bass-line, to melodic extemporising over a chord progression, and to the unwritten freedom offered by the clarity and symmetry of older forms. The age of the basso continuo supplied a wealth of musical pearls for modern rock musicians to reshape.

The term ‘Baroque’ was coined by supercilious Frenchmen to describe what they deemed the grotesquely aberrant music of a previous age. Despite its pejorative intent, the image of the ‘misshapen pearl’ does in fact conjure up something essential about the music of this era. It also forges another link with the rock music of Metallica, Pink Floyd, Van Halen and Muse to name a few key examples. Starting with Monteverdi’s revolutionary

exploration of dissonance and taking in the driving, impulsive dynamism of Vivaldi’s ritornelli, there is an emotional intensity – a raw expressiveness – about the music of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Though embedded in and governed by convention, Baroque music presses against idealised boundaries, stretching and distorting the rules by which it is theoretically bound.

In the last few decades, classical performing artists have dared to rediscover and reignite the emotional intensity that created such a stir across Europe all those years ago. Looking at reports of the extraordinary concerts staged by Vivaldi at the Pio Ospedale della Pietà the shouting, clapping and stamping feet of enraptured audiences sounds more like the atmosphere of a rock concert than the reverential hush we are used to at classical concerts these days. Indeed, my guess is that an original performance of a Vivaldi concerto at the Ospedale and a gig by Metallica at Wembley Stadium have much in common. In its own ways each mines a deep seam of powerful feelings, inviting the listener to let his or her hair down (or pull off the periwig!) and surrender to the spirit that drives the music on.

Heard as a background filler in shopping malls and hotel lobbies, Baroque music is made to sound blandly polished and ‘classical’. Pumping up the volume, dispensing with extraneous refinements and feeling the groove of a walking bass-line allows us to rediscover the thrill of that gorgeous ‘misshapen pearl’ we call ‘baROCK’.

26

listings 2016 

John Butt harpsichord/directorAurora Orchestra

Kings Place’s Resident Orchestra Aurora and the award-winning harpsichordist/director John Butt explore the influence of the Bach family on Mozart and his music.

Hall One 7.30pm | Online Rates £24.50 – £49.50 Savers £9.50 | Premium Seats £69.50 incl. a free interval drink + a programme handbill

sun 31 JanFlorilegiummusic at the court oF Frederick the great

Part of London Chamber Music Series

Benda Symphony No. 6 in GJS Bach Ricercar a 3 & a 6 from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079CPE Bach Flute Concerto in D minor, Wq. 22 Trio Sonata in C minor, Wq. 161 Sanguineus and Melancholicus Quantz Flute Concerto in D

A programme exploring music by the King of Prussia’s most well-established musicians: his flute teacher Johann Quantz, court harpsichordist CPE Bach, and the orchestra leader Franz Benda.

Hall One 6.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 1 Oct

february

tHu 11 feboxFord baroquea neW song: bach and the german motet

Programme to include: JS Bach Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225 JL Bach Das ist meine FreudeSchütz Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, SWV 35 + other works by composers incl. Gabrieli and Calvisius

Based on fresh research into Bach’s own performance repertoire, this insightful

JanuarytHu 14 Janorchestra oF the age oF enlightenment & choir oF the enlightenment monteverdi, grandi & cavalli

Monteverdi Selected works from Selva morale e spirituale (publ. 1640–41) incl. Dixit Dominus, Salve Regina and Magnificat I – interspersed with – Cavalli Selected works from Musiche sacre (publ. 1656)incl. Nisi Dominus, Lauda Jerusalem and Ave, maris stella+ works by Grandi

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Choir of the Enlightenment Robert Howarth director

A programme featuring some of the hidden gems of sacred music that came from the pens of three Italian masters of the late Renaissance–early Baroque period.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £24.50 – £49.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 16 Jan, 24 & 26 Nov and 19 Dec

the night shiFtEveryone loves an innovator, a ground-breaker, an entrepreneur. But not many people can lay claim to inventing an entire genre. Claudio Monteverdi can, however – and if he didn’t quite invent opera single-handedly, he did give it a massive push forward. Join members of the OAE to enjoy his music in relaxed style, drink in hand, and with intros from the stage.

Hall Two 9.45pm | Online Rates £9.50 Standing event with limited seating available. Call box office at time of booking with access requirements. See also 16 Jan, 22 Oct, 24 & 26 Nov and 19 Dec.

fri 15 Janemma kirkby & Jakob lindbergthe golden age revived

Programme to include: Danyel Coy Daphne fledLawes Ariadne’s LamentBlow If mighty wealthAmodei Bianco il pel, toso il crinMudarra Dulces exuviaePurcell Cupid, the slyest rogue aliveother songs + works for solo lute by Dowland, Lawes, Kapsperger, Piccinini, Ferrabosco II and more

Emma Kirkby sopranoJakob Lindberg lute

Two renowned interpreters of Renaissance and Baroque repertoire join forces in a thematic programme of songs to the lute.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £19.50 – £39.50 | Savers £9.50

sat 16 Janstudy day: all about baroqueWith the orchestra oF the age oF enlightenment

Come and unwrap a Baroque box of delights with Crispin Woodhead, Chief Executive of the OAE, joined by special guests from the Orchestra. The essential all-singing, all-dancing guide to everything you wanted to know about the Baroque. Satisfaction guaranteed. Wigs not required.

Hall One 10.30am – 4pm | Online Rates £39.50 incl. tea or coffee during the break See also 14 Jan, 24 & 26 Nov and 19 Dec

aurora orchestra & John butt‘bach is the Father, We are the children’

JC Bach Symphony No. 6 in G minor, Op. 6Mozart Piano Concerto No. 1 in F, K37CPE Bach Sinfonia in D, Wq. 183/1 JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F, BWV 1046 Mozart Adagio & Fugue in C minor, K546JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G, BWV 1048

Emma Kirkby

Oxford Baroque

27

programme explores some of his finest motets alongside works by lesser-known close contemporaries and predecessors.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 10 Dec

fri 12 febFretWorkPassacaille

Programme to include: Purcell Chacony in G minorJS Bach Pièce d’orgue, BWV 572Passacaglia, BWV 582Legrenzi Sonata sesta, Op. 11/12Sonata quinta from La Cetra, Op. 10MA Charpentier Concert pour 4 parties de violes, H545 + works by Marini, Forqueray and Handel

The viol was seen as a virtuoso voice to charm, astonish, move and flatter. However, the appeal of several viols grouped together was also an enduring one. Fretwork explores.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £16.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

sat 13 febdan tePFergoldberg variations/variations

Dan Tepfer piano

Multi-award-winning young pianist Dan Tepfer performs his much admired interpretation of JS Bach’s masterpiece, with the original music complemented by Tepfer’s own improvised jazz-style response, lauded by Wall Street Journal as ‘a bridge across centuries and genres’.

Hall Two 8pm. No interval Online Rates £18.50

sun 14 febthe French dancing mastersa Practical WorkshoP on baroque dance With mary collins & Florilegium

Ashley Solomon Baroque fluteBojan Cicic Baroque violinReiko Ichise viola da gambaTerence Charlston harpsichordwith Mary Collins Baroque dancer

Florilegium, together with Baroque dancer Mary Collins (in full Baroque costume), present a demonstration workshop for all ages exploring some of the basic dances from the French courts.

Hall Two 4pm | Lasts 2 hours with interval Online Rates £19.50

marCHsun 6 marelizabeth WallFisch & Friendsun concert des sPlendides et des Folies

Part of London Chamber Music Series

Leclair Sonata No. 6 in C minor, Op. 5 Le Tombeau Rameau Premier concert in C minor from Pièces de clavecin en concertsMarais Couplets de Folies (No. 20) from Pièces de viole, Livre IICPE Bach 12 Variations on the Folie d’Espagne for harpsichord, Wq. 118/9Francœur Sonata No. 11 in B minor from Deuxième livre de sonatesCouperin Concert No. 9 in E from Les Goûts-réunis, intitulé Ritratto dell’amore

Elizabeth Wallfisch violinRichard Tunnicliffe viola da gambaLeon Schelhase harpsichord

An aristocratic feast of eighteenth century French music presented by one of the most famous exponents of the Baroque violin, Elizabeth Wallfisch, with distinguished friends on the gamba and keyboard.

Hall One 6.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

tHu 17 marcamerata alma vivavivaldi exPlosion: the Four seasons reinvented

Camerata Alma Viva Charlotte Maclet artistic director, violinEric Mouret arrangerMarc Perrenoud piano improvisation

Experience The Four Seasons as never before. The dynamic string ensemble Camerata Alma Viva and arranger Eric Mouret embark on a collaboration with jazz pianist Marc Perrenoud to revisit one of the most recognisable and oft-performed works in all classical music, promising a spectacular performance.

Hall Two 8pm | No interval Online Rates £14.50 | Savers £9.50

Elizabeth Wallfisch fri 18 marchristoPh richter & Friendsvivaldi, mozart, haydn

Mozart Adagio & Fugue in C minor for string quartet, K546 Vivaldi Cello Concerto No. 4 in C minor, RV 401 Cello Concerto No. 27 in B minor, RV 424 Haydn The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross for string qt, Op. 51

Celebrated cellist Christoph Richter brings together an ensemble of international musicians for a programme that will draw us into the dark and fantastical atmosphere of the eighteenth century and show the influence of the Baroque period on the music of two of the greatest composers of the Classical era.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £16.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

april

bach WeekendFri 1 – sun 3 aPr

Martin Feinstein’s acclaimed Bach Weekend has established itself as one of the highlights of London’s musical calendar and the 2016 edition is the first in its new home at Kings Place. The festival will feature the great devotional works of Bach’s Leipzig period juxtaposed with the secular instrumental masterpieces written when he was court composer at Cöthen, enjoying the greatest compositional freedom of his career.

oFFers

DAY and WEEKEND PASSES available. See kingsplace.co.uk/bach2016 for more information.

PACKED LUNCH OFFER (Saturday & Sunday) Book a packed lunch online for the day or simply bring your own with you. Green & Fortune Cafe’s packed lunches include a sandwich (meat, fish or vegetarian), crisps, drinks, a piece of fruit and cake. You will be issued with a voucher to exchange on the day. Booking closes 24hr prior.

MULTI-BUY OFFER: Book tickets for both Friday evening concerts (7.30pm & 10pm) to qualify for a free drink voucher in the break, which can be collected from the Box Office on the day.

MULTI-BUY OFFER: Save 10% when you book tickets for both Cello Suites concerts (Sunday 11.30am & 3.45pm). To book, please contact the Box Office on 020 7520 1490.

2828

works, giving some fascinating insights into these extraordinary masterpieces.

Hall One 11.30am | Online Rates £19.50 incl. tea/coffee/sherry during interval Multi-event offer available. For details, see the OFFERS section on previous page. PACKED LUNCHES – Details on previous page 2.45pm – Pre-concert talk with richard tunnicliffe Free, but ticketed. To book, please contact the Box Office on 020 7520 1490.

bach: the comPlete suites For solo cello – iirichard tunnicliFFe

JS Bach Suite No. 4 in E flat, BWV 1010Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008 Suite No. 6 in D, BWV 1012

Part two of Richard Tunnicliffe’s marathon presentation of Bach’s Six Cello Suites.

Hall One 3.45pm | Online Rates £19.50 incl. tea/coffee & biscuits during the concert Multi-event offer available. For details, see the OFFERS section on previous page.

bach, telemann, handel: the orchestral suitesthe Feinstein ensemble

Part of London Chamber Music Series

JS Bach Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 Telemann Suite in A minor for recorder and strings, TWV 55:a2 Handel Suite No. 3 in G, HWV 350 Water Music

The Feinstein Ensemble Martin Feinstein director, flute, recorder

Bach’s Leipzig period, rightly associated with cantatas and Masses, also saw him organising a series of concerts at Zimmermann’s coffee house, where orchestral works by Handel and Telemann were featured alongside his own. Here Telemann’s virtuosic showpiece, Handel’s elegant Water Music and Bach’s own famous orchestral suite in B minor create a fascinating juxtaposition.

Hall One 6.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

Hall One 11.30am | Online Rates £19.50 incl. tea/coffee/sherry during the interval

PACKED LUNCHES – Details on previous page

2.30pm – study session with dr timothy Jones on the mass in b minor – Free to those attending the 7.30pm concert. To book your ticket, please call the Box Office on 020 7520 1490.

bach: the goldberg variationssteven devine

JS Bach Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Renowned harpsichordist Steven Devine will perform this wonderful set of variations on a short aria, and explain what it is that makes it so universally popular.

Hall Two 4pm | Lasts approx. 75 mins; no interval Online Rates £19.50 incl. tea/coffee & biscuits prior to the concert

bach: mass in b minorthe Feinstein ensemble With the london bach singers

JS Bach Mass in B minor, BWV 232

The London Bach Singers Faye Newton sopranoMhairi Lawson soprano Tim Travers-Brown countertenorClare Wilkinson mezzo-sopranoNicholas Hurndall Smith tenorSimon Wall tenorBen Davies bassEamonn Dougan bassThe Feinstein EnsembleMartin Feinstein director

Even by Bach’s own extraordinary standards, the emotional depth and majestic proportions of the B minor Mass are astonishing. The London Bach Singers join forces again with The Feinstein Ensemble to give their acclaimed reading of this great choral masterpiece.

Hall One 7.30pm | Study Session at 2.30pm Online Rates £34.50 – £59.50 | Savers £9.50

sun 3 aprbach: the comPlete suites For solo cello – irichard tunnicliFFe

JS Bach Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007 Suite No. 3 in C, BWV 1009 Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011

A unique chance to hear all six of the Suites for solo cello, performed by Richard Tunnicliffe, whose recordings of this repertoire have been acclaimed internationally. He will introduce the

fri 1 aprbach: concertos and cantatasthe Feinstein ensemble With the london bach singers

JS Bach Concerto for oboe and violin, BWV 1060R Ich habe genug, BWV 82aIch armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht, BWV 55Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050

Faye Newton sopranoNicholas Hurndall Smith tenorCatherine Manson solo violinKatharina Spreckelsen solo oboeRobin Bigwood solo harpsichordThe London Bach SingersThe Feinstein Ensemble Martin Feinstein director

The weekend kicks off with two sublime Leipzig cantatas, including the much loved Ich habe genug. Also on the programme are two concertos composed during Bach’s miraculously productive time in Cöthen.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50 Followed by informal meet-the-artist drinks at the Concert Bar (Level –2). For details, see the OFFERS section on previous page. Multi-event offer available.

bach: the great Partita For solo violincatherine manson

JS Bach Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004

A performance of the Partita for solo violin in D minor by Catherine Manson, one of the greatest period violinists of our age. The majestic Chaconne which closes this work stands alone as the most magnificent movement written for a solo instrument.

Hall One 10pm | Lasts approx. 45 minutes Online Rates £9.50

sat 2 aprbach: the viola da gamba sonatasJonathan manson & steven devine

JS Bach Sonata in G, BWV 1027Sonata in D, BWV 1028 Sonata in G minor, BWV 1029

Jonathan Manson viola da gamba Steven Devine harpsichord

Jonathan Manson’s recent recording of the three sonatas for viola da gamba was unanimously praised by the critics. Here he will introduce and perform these exquisite works in duo with Steven Devine.

Richard Tunnicliffe

Caption ferorrorest, sit repelestinum evendandi di conecus debit quiatur

29

may

fri 6 maysounds baroquecasanova’s conquest: the tradition oF the Pasticcio

Programme to include works by Hasse, Porpora, Gluck, Handel and Mozart

Sounds Baroque Julian Perkins director, harpsichord

The tradition of the pasticcio, in which operas are compiled from various works, often by several composers, survived into the nineteenth century. In association with the British Library, Julian Perkins, director of Sounds Baroque, has devised a brand-new pasticcio – presented here as a concert performance – inspired by the adventures of Casanova, embracing works by composers as diverse as Jommelli, Leo, Hasse, Gluck and Mozart.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £16.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

sat 7 maystudy day: hoW to be hiP historically inFormed PerFormance: here and noW, Why and hoW

Clare Salaman (The Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments) Professor Richard Wistreich (Royal College of Music; Red Byrd) Dr David McGuinness (Concerto Caledonia)

How have the recording industry and contemporary ideas of ‘good taste’ affected HIP over the last 40 years? What compromises have singers and instrumentalists had to make to perform effectively in large concert halls? Have some aspects of HIP got lost along the way? Together, Wistreich, McGuinness and Salaman will explore ways in which new approaches to historical practice can provide inspiration for creative Historically Informed Performance.

Hall One 10.30am – 4pm | Online Rates £39.50 incl. tea or coffee during the break

the sixteenhandel: acis and galatea

Handel Acis and Galatea, HWV 49

The Sixteen Harry Christophers conductor

Handel’s pastoral opera in English is a tale of tragedy, eternal love and liberation, telling the story of the mortal Acis, the

tHu 21 aprthomas gould & gWilym simcockbaroque encounters

Programme to include: JS Bach Violin Sonata No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1014 Violin Sonata No. 4 in C minor, BWV 1017 JS Bach (arr. Simcock) Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645Jesus bleibet meine Freude, BWV 147

Thomas Gould violinGwilym Simcock piano

Regular collaborators Gould and Simcock, well-known in their respective fields of classical and jazz, join forces for a genre-crossing programme that removes the boundaries between notated and improvised music, classical and jazz.

Hall Two 8pm | No interval Online Rates £14.50 | Savers £9.50

fri 22 aprthe choir oF king’s college, cambridge & the hanover bandhandel: brockes-Passion

Handel Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge The Hanover Band Stephen Cleobury director

A rare opportunity to hear one of Handel’s early oratorios, written around 1715–16, performed by the world-renowned Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, joining forces with one of the finest period-instrument orchestras in the world, The Hanover Band. Nicknamed after its librettist, German poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes, the work is an early example of the Passion style, in which the Gospel is paraphrased. The only German-language oratorio from Handel’s pen, it also served as a model for Bach’s St John Passion.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £34.50 – £59.50 | Savers £9.50

Thomas Gould

sea-nymph Galatea and their love doomed by the cyclops Polyphemus. Christophers stays true to the premiere in 1718, using a small group of five singers and eight/nine musicians in this concert performance.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £24.50 – £49.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 16 Sep

tHu 19 maygeneva cameratabalkan-baroque!

Vivaldi Overture to L’Olimpiade, RV 725JCF Bach Symphony in D minor, WFV 1:3JS Bach Concerto for two violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Telemann Oboe Concerto in E minor, TWV 51:e1 (performed on the clarinet) – interspersed with Balkan Dances from Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey, arranged by Sergei Abir

Geneva Camerata Gilad Harel clarinetDavid Greilsammer conductor

Geneva Camerata and conductor David Greilsammer, joined by guest soloist Gilad Harel, reveal a magical and extraordinary dialogue between the Baroque elegance and the wild rhythms of traditional Balkan songs.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £16.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

fri 20 maytrio aPoriacorPs sonore

Stephen Preston Baroque flute Richard Boothby viola da gambaJane Chapman harpsichord

Rameau’s concept of the ‘sounding body’ revolutionised harmonic thinking in the eighteenth century – it’s explored here in a boundary-defying, twenty-first century context through live electronics in world premiere performances of works by Jean-Philippe Calvin and Michael Oliva, interspersed with Rameau.

Hall Two 8pm | No interval. Online Rates £14.50 | Savers £9.50

The Sixteen

3030

fri 30 sepavison ensemblethe concerto in england: handel and his contemPoraries

Avison Concerto grosso in D, Op. 6 No. 9 Garth Cello Concerto No. 5 in D minorHandel Organ Concerto in A, Op. 7 No. 2Herschel Violin Concerto in D minorStanley Organ Concerto in D, Op. 10 No. 2 Handel Concerto grosso in A, Op. 6 No. 11

In this fascinating survey of the concerto in eighteenth century England, the Avison Ensemble explores some highlights of the genre, including two examples of the uniquely English phenomenon of the organ concerto, the one instrument common to all of tonight’s composers.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £16.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

oCtobersat 1 oCtstudy day: bolivian baroqueWith ashley solomon & Piotr naWrot

The study of South American music archives has changed our knowledge of musical culture in urban centres and missions between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the New World. Dr Piotr Nawrot and Professor Ashley Solomon will discuss the impact this music had on the local inhabitants and how it developed in Bolivia up until the end of the eighteenth century.

Hall One 10.30am – 4pm | Online Rates £39.50 incl. tea or coffee during the break

Florilegium & guests: bolivian baroquemusic From the missions

Anon. Sonata Chiquitanas XVIII; Stella caeli; Tota pulchra; Pastoreta Ychepe Flauta; Aria: Quis me a te; Sonata Chiquitanas IVAraujo Al llanto más tierno; Si el amorAnon. Motet: Caima, Iyai JesusZipoli Beatus vir

Gian-Carla Tisera sopranoKatia Escalera sopranoAlina Delgadillo mezzo-sopranoAlfredo Aramayo tenorFlorilegium Ashley Solomon director

Florilegium and Bolivian guests present a truly exceptional programme of indigenous songs along with works by

fri 16 septhe sixteengems oF the italian and Portuguese baroque

Lotti Crucifixus a 8Melgás Popule meus (Improperia)D Scarlatti Iste confessorMelgás Lamentação de Quinta-Feira SantaMelgás Salve ReginaRebelo Panis angelicusCaldara Crucifixus a 16D Scarlatti Stabat Mater a 10

The Sixteen Harry Christophers conductor

A programme – at times reflective, at times uplifting, and always inspired. Rebelo’s Panis angelicus is sumptuous while Melgas’s prayerful Lamentação are imbued with a sense of hope. Unquestionably, though, the tour de force is Scarlatti’s virtuosic setting of the Stabat Mater.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £24.50 – £49.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 7 May

tHu 29 sepFitzWilliam quartet & FriendsPergolesi’s stabat mater + the Purcell insPirations

Purcell Music from King Arthur, Z628Music from The Fairy Queen, Z629Three Fantasias Marcus Barcham-Stevens Fantasia after Purcell (2014)Jackson Hill Ghosts (2010)Rachel Stott The Purcell Range (World Premiere) Pergolesi Stabat Mater

Fitzwilliam Quartet Julia Doyle sopranoClare Wilkinson mezzo-sopranoLaurence Cummings organ

The Fitzwilliam Quartet, playing on their eighteenth century Baroque equipment and joined by three eminent international guest artists, celebrate ‘contemporary’ music from three centuries.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £16.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

sat 21 maydaria van den berckenhandel and scarlatti at the keyboard

Handel Suites in E, HWV 430; in F, HWV 427 D Scarlatti Keyboard Sonatasin D, K119; in C, K460; in C sharp minor, K247; in E, K380; in C, K159; in B minor, K87; in A minor, K109; in E, K531 Handel Chaconne in G, HWV 435

Daria van den Bercken piano

The distinguished Dutch pianist performs works by two great composers, who once met in Rome in the early stages of their careers for a friendly musical duel on the organ and harpsichord.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

september

tHu 15 seprachel PodgerPerla barocca

Fontana Sonata SecondaCastello Sonata Seconda (publ. 1621)Corelli Violin Sonata, Op. 5 No. 12 La Follia Vivaldi Violin Sonata in A, Op. 2 No. 2Geminiani Violin Sonata, Op. 4 No. 8Veracini Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 2 No. 12 + works by Frescobaldi, Leonarda and Geminiani

Rachel Podger violinMarcin Swiatkiewicz harpsichord

The Italian composers of the mid-seventeenth century created works that explored exciting new possibilities for instrumental music. This programme features lesser-known Italian Baroque masterpieces that are both delightful and technically impressive, showcasing the musical pearls of the era.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £16.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 24 & 26 Nov

Daria van den Bercken

Clare Wilkinson

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sat 22 oCto/modernt kammarorkester vivaldi rocks! gut strings and metal

Vivaldi Concerto in G minor fortwo cellos, RV 531 Bassoon Concerto in A minor, RV 499 ‘Winter’ from The Four Seasons, RV 297Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 1/12 La Folia– interspersed with music by Metallica, Pink Floyd, Muse and Dream Theater

O/MODERNT Kammarorkester Hugo Ticciati violin, director

The Swedish O/Modernt Kammarorkester fuses Vivaldi with the rock music of today. Hear Vivaldi’s concertos with the vibe of a Hammond organ, Metallica guitar solos on amplified bassoon and much more!

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £19.50 – £39.50 | Savers £9.50

novembersun 13 novlevon chilingirian & Friendsbach: the musical oFFering

Part of London Chamber Music Series

JS Bach (arr. H David) The Musical Offering, BWV 1079

Bach’s Musical Offering, written for the Prussian King Frederick the Great, is one of the most celebrated works in classical music. Eminent violinist Levon Chilingirian leads a chamber ensemble in this famous arrangement by musicologist and Bach scholar Hans T. David, for flute, oboe, string septet and harpsichord.

Hall One 6.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

Zipoli and Araujo – all selected from the two most important surviving collections of American Jesuit mission music.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £19.50 – £39.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 31 Jan

tHu 13 oCtbrodsky quartet & david hansenencountertenor

Programme to include: Handel ‘Se in fiorito’ from Giulio CesareRespighi Il tramonto [after Shelley] (1914) + other works

Many of the operatic roles, so often sung by countertenor voices today were originally the domain of the castrato. Artist-in-Residence at Kings Place, the eminent Brodsky Quartet never fails to offer curious angles on musical topics and themes. This programme, featuring the brilliant Australian countertenor David Hansen, is no exception. Together, they will introduce examples from both typical and atypical countertenor repertoire.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £19.50 – £39.50 | Savers £9.50

tHu 20 oCtchristoPh denoth & sacconi quartetvivaldi, bach & boccherini

JS Bach Suite No. 3 in A minor, BWV 995Boccherini Guitar Quintet No. 1 in D minor, G445 Vivaldi Concerto in D for guitar and strings, RV 93 Boccherini Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D, G448 Fandango

Christoph Denoth guitarSacconi Quartet

The Sacconi Quartet joins celebrated guitarist Christoph Denoth to present a scintillating programme of Baroque music in all its variety, including Boccherini’s fiery Fandango Quintet.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £16.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

Sacconi Quartet

tHu 24 novsuites et sonatesrachel Podger & soloists oF the orchestra oF the age oF enlightenment

Programme to include: Mondonville Violin Sonata No. 4 in C, Op. 4 No. 2 Leclair Violin Sonata in G, Op. 5 No. 12Marais Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris+ other works by Duphly and Forqueray

Rachel Podger violinJonathan Manson cello (OAE)Steven Devine harpsichord (OAE)

A celebration of French instrumental music at a time when the new Italian sonata was exerting considerable influence on the younger generation of French composers. The programme includes both suites and sonatas that demonstrate the unique sound of the French Baroque.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £19.50 – £39.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 14 & 16 Jan, 15 Sep, 26 Nov, 19 Dec

fri 25 novle coucher du soleil edWard higginbottom With instruments oF time and truth

F Couperin L’Impériale from Les NationsPremière leçon de ténèbres La Guerre Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minorClérambault Cantate: AbrahamLeclair Violin Sonata in D, Op. 9 No. 6Mondonville Pièces de clavecin avec voix ou violon, Op. 5 Petits motetsRameau Deuxième concert from Pièces de clavecin en concertsCouperin L’apothéose de Corelli

Instruments of Time and Truth Edward Higginbottom director

Intimate music for church and salon from the last years of Louis XIV and those of the Dauphin, exploring the riches of French music-making at its most sensual.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £19.50 – £39.50 | Savers £9.50

a Weekend oF excessively good tastetHu 24 – sat 26 nov 

A strong sense of national character pervades French music throughout the ages. Lully, Charpentier, Couperin and Rameau are some of the composers who contributed to a rich period in France’s musical development, but they appear on programmes less frequently than their Italian or German counterparts. Curated by French Baroque specialist Eamonn Dougan, this series allows us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the musical opulence of the grand siècle of the French Baroque.

Rachel Podger

3232

6.30pm – Pre-concert talk with eamonn dougan Free, but ticketed. To book, please contact the Box Office on 020 7520 1490.

DeCember 

sun 4 DeCred Priest: better red than dead20 years oF baroque revolution!

Part of London Chamber Music Series

In 2016/17 Red Priest celebrates its twentieth anniversary season with a retrospective concert of highlights of the group’s colourful career, together with its latest musical creations. Expect music by, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel, Corelli’s ever-popular Christmas Concerto and a few unsung Baroque heroes, in an evening of Baroque brilliance with a modern twist.

Hall One 6.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

tHu 8 DeCmahan esFahani & avi avitalscarlatti, vivaldi, bach & couPerin

Mahan Esfahani harpsichordAvi Avital mandolin

Iranian harpsichord virtuoso Mahan Esfahani and Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital join forces to explore music written for each instrument and duo transcriptions from the Baroque repertoire which interests them both. Programme to include sonatas and concertos by Scarlatti and Vivaldi, a transcription of Bach’s Sonata in G for violin and harpsichord, BWV 1019, and solo keyboard pieces by Couperin, including the grand chaconne L’amphibie.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

fri 9 DeCconcerto italianohidden gems: trio sonatas

Merula Chiacona, Op. 12 No. 20La Strada, Op. 12 No. 22

sat 26 novchoral WorkshoP For amateur singers With eamonn dougan

Eamonn Dougan, curator of ‘A Weekend of Excessively Good Taste’, and Associate Conductor of The Sixteen, leads a choral workshop for amateur singers working on some gems of the French Baroque from MA Charpentier, Rameau and Bouzignac.

Hall Two 11am – 1pm Online Rates £16.50 incl. music for the day Observers £9.50

Film: tous les matins du mondestarring gerard dePardieu as marin marais

Based on the book of the same name and set during the reign of Louis XIV, Alain Corneau’s 1991 film shows the eminent musician Marin Marais looking back on his young life when he tried to become a pupil of Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, and features much music of the period, especially that for the viola da gamba.

Hall Two 2.30pm | Lasts 2 hours with no interval Online Rates £6.50

hymne a la viergecharPentier and his contemPoraries

Eamonn Dougan directorRachel Podger violinOrchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Choir of the Enlightenment Robert Howarth director

A programme of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s works in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary, centred around two substantial works composed while he worked at the court of the great patroness of the arts Mademoiselle de Guise. These Marian works are interspersed with instrumental works by François Couperin, Marin Marais and Robert de Visée.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £19.50 – £39.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 14 & 16 Jan, 15 Sep, 24 Nov, 19 Dec

Uccellini Aria [quinta] sopra la Bergamasca Handel Trio Sonata in G minor, Op. 2 No. 5Porpora Sinfonia da camera in E minor, Op. 2 No. 5 Corelli Trio Sonata in A minor, Op. 1 No. 4Vivaldi Trio Sonata in C, RV 60

Concerto Italiano Rinaldo Alessandrini director

Praised as the finest ensemble of its kind in Italy today, Concerto Italiano presents a delightful programme that celebrates the trio sonata form – one of the most popular genres of the Baroque era.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50

sat 10 DeCcome and sing With david WordsWorthbach’s magniFicat and other seasonal Works

JS Bach Choruses from the Magnificat in D, BWV 243a Gabrieli Hodie Christus natus estHandel Christmas choruses from MessiahMendelssohn Frohlocket, ihr Völker auf Erden, Op. 79 No. 1John Gardner Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern (from Cantata for Christmas)

David Wordsworth conductor

As an upbeat to tonight’s concert, we will be working on (alongside other works) Bach’s great Magnificat, one of the composer’s most popular and exuberant choral works – a fitting and joyful celebration for the Christmas season.

Hall Two 2pm | lasts 3hrs 15min with interval Online Rates £19.50 incl. loan of music for the day

oxFord baroquebach’s christmas vesPers

JS Bach Magnificat in E flat, BWV 243aKuhnau Uns ist ein Kind geborenGabrieli Hodie Christus natus estM Franck Ein Kind ist uns geborenwith chorales and organ preludes

Oxford Baroque Jeremy Summerly conductor

Oxford Baroque present a historically informed performance of Bach’s festive Magnificat, in its earlier E flat version – originally composed for the Christmas Day Vespers of 1723 at the Thomaskirche Leipzig. Also featured is a magnificent cantata by Kuhnau, Bach’s predecessor

Avi Avital

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

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in Leipzig, formerly mistakenly attributed to Bach as Cantata 142.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £14.50 – £34.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 11 Feb

mon 19 DeCorchestra oF the age oF enlightenmentnoel: a christmas celebration

Schein Banchetto musicale (1617) [excerpts] Praetorius Puer nobis nasciturDances from TerpsichoreUns ist ein Kindlein heut geborn Schütz Magnificat, SWV 468Weihnachtshistorie, SWV 435+ works by Hoyoul, Scheidt and Osiander

A programme that focuses on the early German Baroque repertoire by JS Bach’s predecessors and music by some of the unfairly underrated composers who represent the flowering of the new Northern European style that resulted from the Protestant Reformation.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £24.50 – £49.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 14 & 16 Jan, 24 & 26 Nov

tue 20 DeCdunedin consorthandel’s messiah

Handel Messiah, HWV 56

Mhairi Lawson sopranoClare Wilkinson mezzo-sopranoNicholas Mulroy tenorMatthew Brook bass

Dunedin Consort John Butt director

Come and hear the most famous oratorio of all time from the celebrated Dunedin Consort; with its soloist-led chorus and suberb orchestra, under the direction of the eminent John Butt, they present their award winning version of this popular work.

Hall One 7.30pm Online Rates £34.50 – £59.50 | Savers £9.50 See also 16 Jan

Nicholas Mulroy

listings: Emma Kirkby (p24) by Bibi Basch; Oxford Baroque (p24) by Ralph Williamson; Elizabeth Wallfisch (p25) by Benjamin Ealovega; Richard Tunnicliffe (p26), supplied photo; Thomas Gould (p27) by Aga Tomaszek; The Sixteen (p27) by Arnaud Stephenson; Daria van den Bercken (p28) by Andreas Terlaak; Clare Wilkinson (p28) by Stefan Schweiger; Sacconi Quartet (p29) by Emilie Bailey; Rachel Podger (p29) by Jonas Sacks; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (p30) by Eric Richmond/Harrison Agency; Avi Avital (p30) by Harald Hoffmann/Deutsche Grammophon; Nicholas Mulroy (p31) by Raphaelle Photography

© Kings Place 2015–2016 All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at the time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions/errors. The views expressed in this print are not necessarily those of Kings Place.

credits

editor-in-chieFHelen Wallace

art director Julie Hill

editorial teamMichael Green Emrah Tokalaç Alice Clark (web)

ProgrammingPeter Millican Amy Sibley-Allen Hannah Cooke

PrinterIndigo Press

image creditscontributors: Peter Millican (p1) by Nick White; Edward Higginbottom (p4) by Ian and Jan Stobie; Mahan Esfahani (p7) by Marco Borggreve; Rachel Podger (p8) by Jonas Sacks; Simon Heighes (p11) supplied photo; Mary Collins (p12), supplied photo; Julian Perkins (p14) by Andy Craggs; John Butt (p16), supplied photo; David Hansen (p19) by Tonje Thilesen; Ashley Solomon (p20) by Ben Blossom; Hugo Ticciati (p23) by Marco Borggreve

Engraved print of a ballet at Versailles by Charles Nicolas Cochin, 1745, detail (p2–3) © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

objects: Engraving (p5) © Falkenstein/Bildagentur-online Historical Collection/Alamy; Pendant (p6) © Sotheby’s London; Violin (p9) © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford; Statuette (p10) © Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Shoes © Northampton Museums & Art Gallery (p13); Title plate (p15) © British Library; Coffee pot (p17) © Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Castratori (p18) © Museum of the History of Medicine, Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome; Angel figurine (p21) & Vinyl (p22) © Ben Blossom

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the Box Office Staff of any access requirements when booking. There is an induction loop at the Box Office Welcome Desk to assist those with hearing aids. An infrared system is installed in Halls One and Two, with hearing advancement headsets available for audience members who do not use a hearing aid. Neck loops are also available to use with hearing aids switched to the ‘T’ position. All areas of Kings Place are accessible to those with Guide & Hearing Dogs.

arriving late We will endeavour to seat latecomers at a suitable break in the performance, although this may not always be possible and in some instances latecomers may not be admitted at all. Tickets are non-refundable.

taking Pictures The use of cameras, video or sound recording equipment is strictly prohibited during performances, concerts and exhibitions. Kings Place may take pictures during your visit that are later used for promotional purposes.

returns PolicyTickets cannot be refunded or exchanged, except where an event is cancelled or abandoned when less than half of the performance has taken place.

Journey Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.

Public transPortThe Transport for London Journey Planner provides live travel updates and options on how to reach Kings Place quickly and accurately. You can also call London Travel Information on +44 (0)20 7222 1234.

tube The nearest tube station is King’s Cross St Pancras, on

booking

Tickets for all performances from £9.50 online. Tickets are cheaper if booked online. (The online ticket prices are shown in the listings.)

Please add £2 per ticket to the online price if booking by telephone or in person. Kings Place do not charge any additional booking or postage fees.

grouP bookingsBuy six or more tickets per event, and save 20%. Group discounts are available through the Box Office only and are not bookable online. May not be applicable for some events and subject to availability.

onlineSecure online booking 24 hours kingsplace.co.uk

by PhoneKings Place Box Office +44 (0)20 7520 1490

in PersonBox Office Opening Hours: Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri & Sat 12–8pm; Tue 10–5pm; Sun 12–7pm (closed Bank Holidays). Box Office Opening Hours are subject to change.

Kings Place90 York Way London, N1 9AG

hall oneAssigned Seating – Choose your own seat when booking.

£9.50 Saver Seats can only be purchased online and are limited in availability. You are guaranteed a seat. Its location will be allocated by the Box Office. Tickets may be collected at any time during the hour before the performance.

access Kings Place aims to be accessible to everyone, and all performance spaces offer suitable seating for wheelchair users. Please inform

Central Saint Martins

Regent’s Canal Wharf Rd

Goods Way

Pancras Rd

NCPCar Park

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g’s

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leva

rd

Midland R

dEuston Station

St Pancras International Thameslink

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British Library

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doni

an R

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asin

York

Way

the Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, Piccadilly, Northern and Victoria lines. The station has step-free access from platform to street level. The quickest way to Kings Place is via the new King’s Boulevard. You can also walk up York Way.

bus The bus route to York Way is the 390. Other services running to nearby are routes 10, 17, 30, 45, 46, 59, 63, 73, 91, 205, 214, 259 & 476.

carKings Place is easily accessible and clearly signposted in the immediate area. The building is outside the Congestion Charge Zone. The nearest car park is at St Pancras Station on Pancras Road, open 24 hours, 7 days including Bank Holidays.

bike There is a Barclays Bike Hire Docking Station on Crinan Street. For its latest status and cycling routes please visit: tfl.gov.uk/ roadusers/cycling or call: +44 (0)20 7222 1234.

Food & drinkRotunda Bar & Restaurant is the perfect place to dine and enjoy a drink when attending a performance. With its waterside setting, and a range of dining options including a full à la carte menu, great value pre-performance menu, light post-performance supper, as well as a selection of smaller nibbles and bar food, there is something to suit everybody. However if it’s just a drink you’re after, Rotunda also has a great range of beers and wine for a pre- or post-performance tipple. +44 (0)207 014 2840.

If you just want a quick bite, the Green & Fortune Café is ideal, serving a selection of daily hot specials, soups and hot carvery rolls alongside salads, sandwiches and cakes which are all made fresh every day.+44 (0)0207 014 2850.

The Concert Bar is situated adjacent to the concert halls. Place your interval order at the bar prior to the start of the performance and your drinks will be waiting for you.

‘A collection of Figure Dances … described in characters after the newest Manner of Monsieur Feuillet’ from An essay for the further improvement of dancing by Edmund Pemberton (London, 1711)

© Library of Congress, Music Division

Cover image: © Sotheby’s London (see also p6)

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tHu 13 oCt brodsky quartet & david hansen – Encountertenor

tHu 20 oCt christoph denoth & sacconi quartet – Vivaldi, Bach & Boccherini

sat 22 oCt vivaldi rocks! – Gut Strings and Metal with O/MODERNT Kammarorkester

sun 13 nov levon chilingirian & Friends – Bach: The Musical Offering

a weekenD of exCessively  gooD taste, 24–26 nov

tHu 24 nov suites et sonates – Rachel Podger & Members of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

fri 25 nov le coucher du soleil – Music from the last years of Louis XIV and the Dauphin with Instruments of Time and Truth & Edward Higginbottom

sat 26 novchoral Workshop – for Amateur Singers with Eamonn Dougan

Film: tous les matins du monde – starring Gérard Depardieu as Marin Marais

hymne à la vierge – Charpentier and His Contemporaries, with Rachel Podger & the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

sun 4 DeCred Priest: better red than dead – 20 Years of Baroque Revolution!

tHu 8 DeCmahan esfahani & avi avital – Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Bach & Couperin

fri 9 DeCconcerto italiano – Trio Sonatas

sat 10 DeC come and sing with david Wordsworth – Bach’s Magnificat and other seasonal works

oxford baroque – Bach’s Christmas Vespers

mon 19 DeCnoel: a christmas celebration – Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

tue 20 DeCdunedin consort – Handel’s Messiah

sun 3 apr bach: Pre-concert talk – Richard Tunnicliffe

bach: the complete suites for solo cello, concerts i & ii – Richard Tunnicliffe

bach, telemann, handel: the orchestral suites – The Feinstein Ensemble

tHu 21 apr thomas gould & gwilym simcock – Baroque Encounters

fri 22 aprthe choir of king’s college, cambridge & the hanover band – Handel: Brockes-Passion

fri 6 maysounds baroque – Casanova’s Conquest:The Tradition of the Pasticcio

sat 7 maystudy day: how to be hiP – Historically Informed Performance: Here and Now, Why and How with Clare Salaman & Guests

the sixteen – Handel: Acis and Galatea

tHu 19 maygeneva camerata – Balkan-Baroque!

fri 20 maytrio aporia – Corps sonore

sat 21 may daria van den bercken – Handel and Scarlatti at the Keyboard

tHu 15 seprachel Podger – Perla Barocca

fri 16 sep the sixteen – Gems of the Italian and Portuguese Baroque

tHu 29 sepFitzwilliam quartet & Friends – Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater + The Purcell Inspirations

fri 30 sep avison ensemble – The Concerto in England: Handel and his Contemporaries

sat 1 oCt study day: bolivian baroque – Ashley Solomon & Piotr Nawrot

Florilegium & guests: bolivian baroque – Music from the Missions

tHu 14 Jan orchestra and choir of the age of enlightenment – Monteverdi, Grandi & Cavalli

the night shift – Monteverdi

fri 15 Jan emma kirkby & Jakob lindberg – The Golden Age Revived

sat 16 Janstudy day: all about baroque – with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

aurora orchestra & John butt – ‘Bach is the father, we are the children’

sun 31 JanFlorilegium – Music at the Court of Frederick the Great

tHu 11 feb oxford baroque – A New Song: Bach and the German Motet

fri 12 feb Fretwork – Passacaille

sat 13 feb dan tepfer – Goldberg Variations/Variations

sun 14 feb the French dancing masters – A Practical Workshop on Baroque Dance with Mary Collins & Florilegium

sun 6 marelizabeth Wallfisch & Friends – Un concert des splendides et des folies

tHu 17 mar camerata alma viva – Vivaldi Explosion: The Four Seasons Reinvented

fri 18 mar christoph richter & Friends – Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn

baCH weekenD, 1–3 apr

fri 1 apr bach: concertos and cantatas – The Feinstein Ensemble with The London Bach Singers

bach: the great Partita for solo violin – Catherine Manson

sat 2 aprbach: the viola da gamba sonatas – Jonathan Manson & Steven Devine

bach: study session on the mass in b minor – Dr Timothy Jonesbach: the goldberg variations – Steven Devine

bach: mass in b minor – The Feinstein Ensemble with The London Bach Singers

2016

online savers £9.50 kingsplace.co.uk/baroque