What happened in our 2023-24 season

Ensemble Hesperi - Handel in the Strand

Friday, 15th March, 2024, 7.30pm
St Alkmunds Church, Shrewsbury
Ensemble Hesperi in performance, playing violin, harpsichord, cello and flute
Handel, Blow, Sammartini, Purcell, Telemann and more

A mixed programme of Baroque music by the most celebrated composers in London at the turn of the 18th century, including Nicola Matteis, G F Handel, John Playford, Elisabetta de Gambarini, Giuseppe Sammartini, John Blow, Henry Purcell and Georg Philipp Telemann.

In the 1700s, London was quickly becoming the musical hub of Europe, attracting the great Handel himself, alongside a multitude of French and Italian musicians who seized the opportunity to play in London's thriving theatre district. This programme captures the spirit of music-making across the City, from theatres to taverns and music in the home.

On the vibrant thoroughfare of the Strand, home to most of London's famous music shops and print houses, John Walsh first produced Handel’s trio sonatas and Corelli's ever-popular Op. 5 violin sonatas. Only streets away, Scottish musicians like James Oswald set up their own shops along the Strand, feeding the craze for Scottish music in the capital. In the theatres, Handel directed the first performances of his operas and oratorios, working with mezzo-soprano Elisabetta de Gambarini and star oboist Giuseppe Sammartini.

Just along the road at the Temple Church, John Playford sold his best-selling books of dance tunes, and we meet Henry Purcell and his teacher John Blow competing in an organ battle!

TICKETS

£18
Children and full-time students £9

How to buy tickets

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