Classical gods (and classical unities?) in Il Ritorno D’Ulisse

Monteverdi clothes this epic Homeric tale of virtue and constancy rewarded with music of extraordinary eloquence, tender, heroic and passionate by turns.

William Boyce and his musical world – a talk by Peter Holman, Artistic Director

William Boyce’s melodious score for ‘Solomon’ was lastingly popular in the eighteenth century. We complement it with two of Handel’s famous coronation anthems.

A superb programme of music for clarinet and piano from around 1800, played on period instruments.

In this entertaining and informative lecture recital Terence Charlston, one of Britain’s leading early keyboard exponents, explores music by Byrd, Froberger, J.S. Bach and C.P.E. Bach on two contrasted clavichords. He is joined by Julian Perkins for the finale, Beethoven’s four-hand Sonata in D major, op. 6 (1797).

This afternoon of events is the latest instalment of our fruitful collaboration with Gainsborough’s House.

We celebrate Thomas Linley with a cross section of his finest music. Mozart, his friend and exact contemporary, thought him a ‘true genius’.