1. No category

10 March - 20 April 2015
LAURENCE CUMMINGS Musical Director
ADRIAN BUTTERFIELD
Associate Director
www.london-handel-festival.com
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LONDON HANDEL FESTIVAL 2015 - DIARY OF EVENTS
VENUES
SGHS - St George’s, Hanover Square; FM - Foundling Museum; BT, RCM - Britten Theatre, Royal College
of Music; QEH - Queen Elizabeth Hall; SL - St Lawrence, Little Stanmore; GC - Grosvenor Chapel
MacL - MacLaren Hall
MARCH
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How to book
p4
Welcome from Laurence Cummings
p5
Tuesday 10 March
1.10-2.10pm SGHS
Simon Williams Organ Concert
p7
Tuesday 10 March
4-5pm
Talk on Semele by Dr Ruth Smith
p6
Tuesday 10 March
4.45-5.45pm
Handel majesty, memorials Walk
p6
Tuesday 10 March 7pm Handel Semele p8
SGHS
QEH Tuesday 10 March
Cecil Sharp Children’s Baroque Dance Project
p 20
Wednesday 11 March
7pm
FM
Amadè Players
p9
Thursday 12 March
1-2pm
SGHS
Trinity Laban Baroque Ensemble
p 18
Friday 13 March
1-2pm
SGHS
Guildhall School Cantata Ensemble
p 18
Monday 16 March
1-2pm
SGHS
Susanna Fairbairn Lunchtime Recital
p 19
Monday 16 March
7pm
SGHS
GOD ROT TUNBRIDGE WELLS Film
p9
Tuesday 17 March
1.10-2.10pm GC
Weston Jennings Organ Concert
p7
Tuesday 17 March 7pm SGHSHandel Catone in Utica p 10
Thursday 19 March
5-6.15pm
High art and low life in London’s
former hunting grounds Walk
p6
Thursday 19 March
7pm
Solomon’s Knot & Les Passions de l’Ame p 10
Sunday 22 March
11am/2.30pm MacL
Family Concert
p 16
Monday 23 March
7pm
Handel Giove in Argo
p 11
Tuesday 24 March
1.10-2.10pm SGHS
Robin Walker Organ Concert
p7
Tuesday 24 March
4-5pm
BT, RCM
Talk on Giove in Argo - Donald Burrows p 6
Tuesday 24 March
7pm
BT, RCM
Handel Giove in Argo
p 11
Wednesday 25 March
1-2pm
SGHS
Neil McLaren & Laurence Cummings
p 19
Wednesday 25 March
7pm
BT, RCM
Handel Giove in Argo
p 11
Thursday 26 March
1-2pm
SGHS
Royal College of Music Baroque
p 19
Thursday 26 March
7pm
BT, RCM
Handel Giove in Argo
p 11
Friday 27 March
1-2pm
SGHS
Ewa Gubańska Lunchtime Recital
p 19
SGHS
BT, RCM
Saturday 28 March
from 11am
FM
Sing Messiah
p 12
Sunday 29 March
6pm
SL
Chandos Anthems at Little Stanmore
p 12
Tuesday 31 March
1.10-2.10pm GC
Grosvenor Chapel Choir
p7
Tuesday 31 March 7pm
Revolutionary Drawing Room
p 13
Wednesday 1 April
4.45-6.15pm
From 18C to 21C travelling 300 years of music and the arts Walk
p6
Wednesday 1 April
7pm
The Arcadian Dream
p 13
Friday 3 April 2.30pmSGHS Bach St Matthew Passion
Tuesday 7 April
1.10-2.10pm SGHS
Tuesday 7 April
7pm SGHSLampe Dragon of Wantley
p 14
Wednesday 8 April
1-2pm
SGHS
Maria Valdmaa Lunchtime Recital
p 20
Wednesday 8 April
7pm
SGHS
Red Priest
p 15
Thursday 9 April
6pm
SGHS
HSC 2015 Semi-Final
p 15
Friday 10 April
1-2pm
SGHS
Beauchamp Ensemble Concert
p 20
Monday 13 April
1-2pm
SGHS
Katherine Crompton Lunchtime
Recital
p 20
Tuesday 14 April
1.10-2.10pm GC
Richard Hobson Organ Concert
p7
Tuesday 14 April
7.30pm WH
London Handel Players
p 16
Thursday 16 April
7pm
SGHS
Odissea & Suzana Ograjenšek
p 17
Friday 17 April
7pm
SGHS
Southbank Sinfonia Baroque
p 17
Monday 20 April
5-6.15pm
Handel’s patrons and London’s
nobility Walk
p6
Monday 20 April
HSC 2015 Final
p 18
SGHS
APRIL
7pm
FM
SGHS
Cover illustration of Semele by Elizabeth
p 14
Andrew Benson-Wilson Organ Concert p 7
Gadsby
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TICKET PRICES
Ticket prices are shown with the information
about each event in this brochure. Prices are also
shown on the festival website on each event page
and on the booking pages. If you would like a
paper Booking Form we can send you one from
the office or you can download one from the
festival website.
www.london-handel-festival.com
VENUES
BRITTEN THEATRE, ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC
Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2BS
http://www.rcm.ac.uk
FOUNDLING MUSEUM
40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ
http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk
GROSVENOR CHAPEL
South Audley Street, London, W1K 2PA
http://www.grosvenorchapel.org.uk
HANDEL HOUSE MUSEUM
25 Brook Street, London, W1K 4HB
http://www.handelhouse.org
SOUTHBANK CENTRE
QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk
ST GEORGE’S, HANOVER SQUARE
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
http://www.stgeorgeshanoversquare.org
ST LAWRENCE, LITTLE STANMORE
Whitchurch Lane, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 6QS
WIGMORE HALL
36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP
http://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
HOW TO BOOK
SEATING
Reserved = numbered seats, advance booking
recommended
Unreserved = choose your seat on arrival, but
you can book in advance to ensure a seat.
POSTAL BOOKING
General postal bookings will be allocated after
those for Handel supporters. All orders will be
dealt with in order of priority and they should
be sent to:
Box Office, London Handel Society
Horton House, 8 Ditton Street
Ilminster, Somerset, TA19 0BQ
DISCOUNTS
if you are entitled to more than one discount
please calculate in the order shown below.
Payment may be made by cheque or signed
credit card authorisation. Please do not enter
a specific amount on the cheque, but state the
maximum amount payable at the bottom of the
cheque, in case we are not able to supply all the
seats you request. A paper booking form can be
obtained from the address above.
1
Student - £2 discount per ticket
2
Disabled - £2 discount per ticket
3
Booked 3 or more concerts before
10 March: 5% discount
4
Group bookings - 10 or more people
5% discount per ticket for any one
performance.
ONLINE BOOKING
from 19 January at
STANDBY
£6 tickets are available (if the performance is
not sold out) to senior citizens, students and
the unemployed at the door upon proof of
eligibility, 10 minutes before the performance.
Lunchtime concerts are not included.
www.london-handel-festival.com
TELEPHONE BOOKING
from 27January on 01460 54660
Monday to Friday
10am-12.30pm and 2-4pm
(unless otherwise indicated)
The Box Office will open at the venue
45 minutes before each performance.
TICKET RE-SALES AND REFUNDS
We will exchange or refund (less an administration
fee) bookings whenever possible up to 48 hours
before the performance. Less than 48 hours
before, the seats will be offered for re-sale once
all house seats have been sold.
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Disabled access and facilities and
general enquiries - tel: 01460 53500/54660
________________________________________________
Southbank Centre Box Office for Handel Semele
on 10 March - All orders for the concert must
go through the SBC. Festival discounts above
will be calculated via the LHF Box Office if you
buy for other events in the Festival.
Wigmore Hall Box Office for 14 April concert.
Booking opens 3 February. All orders should go
through Wigmore - Festival discounts above will
be calculated via the LHF Box Office if you buy for
other events in the Festival.
Dear Fellow Handelians,
Welcome to our Festival programme for 2015. For this year,
we have chosen a classical theme, more specifically works
by Handel that focus on Jupiter, the King of the gods, and
his various antics. We return to the Queen Elizabeth Hall for
Semele, remembering fondly the many concerts Denys Darlow
performed there in the early days of the Festival. We have
many of our prize winners from the Handel Singing Competition
in the leading roles with the radiant Anna Devin and Rupert
Charlesworth as aspiring goddess and mollifying lover.
PATRONS
Dame Emma Kirkby
Ian Partridge CBE
Laurence Cummings
Musical Director
Adrian Butterfield
Associate Director
Catherine Hodgson
Festival Director
Denys Darlow
Founder Conductor
Richard Hopkin
Chairman of LHS
Giove in Argo is our opera, which finds Jupiter this time in the
guise of a shepherd. This is one of Handel’s pasticchio operas
and as far as we know our production will be a modern London
premier. The opera is full of hit arias and we have two
wonderful casts from the RCM International Opera School
directed by James Bonas and designed by Molly Einchcomb.
There are many other musical highlights, amongst them the
London Handel Players return to the Wigmore Hall; Ann Allen
directs a performance of The Dragon of Wantley; the innovative
Red Priest give their take on Handel; the finalists from HSC 2014
give a programme of rarely performed duets and trios, and, of
course, the jewel in our crown, the Handel Singing Competition
2015.
This year, in the true spirit of Handel, please join us in reaching
out with welcoming hands as ambassadors to new friends and
help us make our Festival a feast for the future. I look forward
to seeing you all at the London Handel Festival 2015.
Warmest wishes,
Laurence Cummings
Promoted by the
London Handel Society Ltd
Charity number 269184
Photographs:
Laurence Cummings
Adrian Butterfield
Ewa Gubańska
Winner of the HSC 2014
Photographs of
Arianna in Creta
March 2014 by
Chris Christodoulou
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LONDON MUSICAL WALKS & TALKS
TUESDAY 10 MARCH 4.45-5.45PM
Meet outside Westminster tube station (opposite the Houses of Parliament)
TICKET PRICE: £10
HANDEL MAJESTY, MEMORIALS AND MUSIC
One hour walk from Westminster Tube station to Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre taking in
Whitehall Palace, Horse Guards Parade and the back of 10 Downing Street, Westminster Abbey,
St Margaret’s, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge, Red Lion Brewery, Thames Fireworks
music and the Southbank Centre. Handel Semele 7pm.
TUESDAY 10 MARCH 4-5PM
DR RUTH SMITH will give a talk on Semele at St George’s, Hanover Square.
TICKET PRICE: £8
Semele is one of Handel’s greatest masterpieces and widely regarded as his most attractive work in
English. In more than one sense it was also his riskiest composition. Why did he do it? What was he
aiming for? What happened in the process? Ruth Smith explores possible answers to these questions,
taking in the King’s mistress, Handel as a hog, Semele’s unfortunate family history, the young men who
‘have undertaken to middle with harmony’ and what was done to arguably the greatest ever English
opera libretto. With readings from Handel’s contemporaries by the ever-popular Oliver Soden.
TUESDAY 19 MARCH 5.00-6.15PM
Meet outside Piccadilly Circus tube station at the Regent’s Street entrance
TICKET PRICE: £10
HIGH ART AND LOW LIFE IN LONDON’S FORMER HUNTING GROUNDS
A 75 minute walk from Piccadilly Circus tube to St George’s, Hanover Square taking in Surgeon Hunter,
Golden Square, Meard Street, Handel’s amanuensis and the mural of Soho.
Solomon’s Knot and Les Passions de l’Ame 7pm.
TUESDAY 24 MARCH 4-5PM
Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2BS.
TICKET PRICE: FREE
DONALD BURROWS will give a talk on Giove in Argo at the Britten Theatre, RCM.
WEDNESDAY
1 APRIL
4.45-6.15PM
Meet outside the main entrance to King’s Cross station.
TICKET PRICE: £10
FROM 18C TO 21C TRAVELLING 300 YEARS OF MUSIC AND THE ARTS
A 75-90 minutes walk from Kings Cross station to Foundling Museum. Strolling to view the very latest
changes in this major redevelopment area including St Martin’s at the Granary and amazing new
buildings plus King’s Place, history of the Regent’s Canal, the much older infamous Panharmonium
Gardens and St Chad’s Well and Bowling Green before arriving at the Foundling Museum.
The Arcadian Dream 7pm.
MONDAY
20 APRIL
5.00-6.15PM
Meet at the entrance on the Green Park side of Piccadilly.
TICKET PRICE: £10
HANDEL’S PATRONS AND LONDON’S NOBILITY
A 75 minute walk from Green Park underground to St George’s, Hanover Square.
A meander and insight into the life of the rich in 18C London – from coaching inns and shops frequented
by the nobility to life at St James’s Palace, St James Square, Burlington House and much more including
secret square and the best dressed man in London. Handel Singing Competition Final 7pm
6
TICKETS: £10 per walk or £8 if you come to the concert afterwards as well.
The walks need to be booked in advance.
MAYFAIR ORGAN CONCERTS
We are delighted that the Mayfair Organ Concerts are part of
the Festival again this year. They will take place on the highly
acclaimed Richard Fowkes organ at St George’s, installed in
2012, and the fine William Drake organ of 1991 at the Grosvenor
Chapel.
The programmes will feature works by Handel, together with
related repertoire and is performed by a mixture of established
players and rising talent. The series is part of the MOC’s
year-round programme.
TUESDAY 10 MARCH 1.10-2.10pm
Simon Williams
GROSVENOR CHAPEL
South Audley Street
London, W1K 2PA
ST GEORGE’S, HANOVER SQUARE
St George Street
London, W1S 1FX
Venue: St George’s, Hanover Square
Organist and Director of Music
at St George’s, Hanover Square
TUESDAY 17 MARCH 1.10-2.10pm Venue: Grosvenor Chapel
Weston Jennings Organ Scholar at Royal Festival Hall
Apollo Baroque Consort (dir. Joe Waggott)
TUESDAY 24 MARCH 1.10-2.10pm Venue: St George’s, Hanover Square
Robin Walker
TUESDAY 31 MARCH 1.10-2.10pm
Grosvenor Chapel Choir
& Christopher Strange organ
TUESDAY 7 APRIL 1.10-2.10pm Andrew Benson-Wilson
Assistant Organist at
St George’s, Hanover Square
Venue: Grosvenor Chapel
Organ Scholar at Grosvenor Chapel
Venue: St George’s, Hanover Square
TUESDAY 14 APRIL1.10-2.10pm
Venue: Grosvenor Chapel
Richard Hobson Organist and Director of Music
at Grosvenor Chapel
TICKETS: There will be a retiring collection.
Doors open from 12.30pm - unreserved seating
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TUESDAY 10 MARCH 7PM
Southbank Centre
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
HANDEL SEMELE HWV58
Semele ANNA DEVIN
Athamus / High Priest ROBIN BLAZE
Ino EWA GUBAŃSKA
Somnus / Cadmus GEORGE HUMPHREYS
Apollo / Jupiter RUPERT CHARLESWORTH
Juno LOUISE INNES
Iris MARIA VALDMAA
Laurence Cummings conductor
London Handel Orchestra
London Handel Singers
Adrian Butterfield leader
More than any other among Handel’s English works, Semele marries the
dramatic and musical potencies of opera and oratorio. Writing at the top of
his form, to a hilarious libretto by one of Britain’s greatest playwrights, Handel
explores intimate and fraught personal relationships amid collisions of human
and immortal, parent and child, wife and mistress, the individual and society,
ambition and power – with some of his most glorious melodies and stirring
choruses. No wonder Semele perplexed some of Handel’s original audience
and has delighted those of our own day. LHF’s performance as Handel
intended – not staged, not cut – gives us a rare opportunity to hear the
work for what it is, a poignant, witty, compelling drama of the heart and mind.
TICKETS FOR SEMELE
Tickets are for sale from 3 December 2014 from the Southbank Centre box office only.
0844 847 9910 and online from www.southbankcentre.co.uk
TICKET PRICES: £60 £55 £50 £45 £40 £35 £20
Dr Ruth Smith will give a talk on Semele
at St George’s, Hanover Square
from 4-5pm on 10 March.
TICKETS PRICE: £8
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WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH 7PM
Foundling Museum
40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR HANDEL
Handel GP Telemann
CPE Bach Handel Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne:
Eternal Source of Light Divine HWV74
Concerto for Trumpet in D major TWV51:D7
Concerto for Violoncello in A major Wq.172
Coronation Anthem: Zadok the Priest HWV258
THE AMADÈ PLAYERS
David Blackadder trumpet
Carina Drury violoncello
Nicholas Newland director
Rebecca Ramsey soprano
Rosie Middleton mezzo-soprano
Joe Bolger counter-tenor
Matthew Duncan baritone
The Amadè Players return to the Foundling Museum with a programme of
celebratory music marking 330 years since the birth of Handel, and our London
Handel Festival début. The concert opens with the exquisite Ode for the Birthday
of Queen Anne, better known by its opening line, ‘Eternal Source of Light Divine’,
featuring guest soloist David Blackadder, joined by four solo voices and chorus.
After 2014’s sold-out performance of Handel’s Rodelinda at the Foundling
Museum, we welcome the same cast of soloists for a second season.
TICKET PRICE: £12 - unreserved seating
www.amadeplayers.com
MONDAY 16 MARCH 7PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
GOD ROT TUNBRIDGE WELLS
A TALE OF WOE AND BLOODY-MINDED PERSISTENCE
Directed by Tony Palmer
Tony Palmer will introduce the film and take questions afterwards.
This film was originally shown in 1985 on Channel Four, to
commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of that honorary
‘British’ composer, Georg Frederic Handel. It caused a predictable
furore. It was written by John Osborne, and what the hell did
he know about music? ‘A trashy comic strip’, was among the more
generous of reviews. Only the music escaped criticism. Mackerras
(another honorary ‘Brit’) and his fiery cast – Emma Kirkby, James
Bowman, Elizabeth Harwood, John Shirley-Quirk, Simon Preston,
Anthony Rolfe-Johnson, Valerie Masterson, Andrei Gavrilov, the English
Chamber Orchestra - were rightly praised. Mackerras adored the film, and for a time went round slightly
misquoting one of Handel’s speeches from the film. ‘What have I done for the Georges of England?’
Mackerras said: ‘What have I done for the Handels of England? Rescued them, great Sir. Rescued them.’
Why the title? Well, for the answer you have to see the film!
TICKET PRICE: £10 - unreserved seating
www.tonypalmer.org
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TUESDAY 17 MARCH 7pm
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
HANDEL CATONE IN UTICA
1732
OPERA SETTECENTO
Marzia ERICA ELOFF soprano
Emilia CHRISTINA GANSCH soprano
Arbace EMILIE RENARD mezzo-soprano
Catone ANDREW WATTS counter-tenor
Cesare CHRISTOPHER JACKLIN bass-baritone
Tom Foster musical director
The first modern performance of a Handel pasticcio, based
on Leonardo Leo’s Catone in Utica (Venice 1729.) As
impresario, Handel would programme one pasticcio per
season. It enabled him to introduce the genre of Italian
opera to his London public. Catone also showcases
arias by Hasse, Porpora, Vivaldi and Vinci.
TICKET PRICES: £45, £40, £35, £30, £32, £12, £10 - reserved seating
www.operasettecento.com
THURSDAY 19 MARCH 7PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
DIE TAGESZEITEN
JS Bach GP Telemann
Orchestral Suite No 3
in D major BWV1068
Motet ‘Singet dem Herrn
ein neues Lied’ BWV225
Cantata Cycle Die Tageszeiten TWV30:39
LES PASSIONS DE L’AME SOLOMON’S KNOT Meret Lüthi Artistic Director
Jonathan Sells Artistic Director
The ‘Die Tageszeiten’ project is the first collaboration between the
professional ensembles Les Passions de l’Ame from Bern and the innovative
and exciting group, Solomon’s Knot. The focus is the performance of Telemann’s
cantata cycle ‘Die Tageszeiten’
as well as the cultural exchange
between the musicians.
TICKET PRICES:
£35, £30, £25, £22, £20, £12, £10
reserved seating
www.solomonsknotcollective.com
www.lespassions.ch/cms/en
10
HANDEL GIOVE IN ARGO
HWV A14
MONDAY 23 MARCH 7PM
TUESDAY 24 MARCH 7PM
WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH 7PM
THURSDAY 26 MARCH 7PM
Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music
Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2BS
The confirmed cast lists will be posted to the website
Licaone
Diana
Iside
Arete
Calisto
Erasto
MATT BUSWELL
TIMOTHY CONNOR
ROSE SETTEN
HE WU
KEZIA BIENEK
ANGELA SIMKIN
GYULA RAB
PETER AISHER
GALINA AVERINA
SOFIA LARSSON
TIMOTHY NELSON
NICHOLAS MORTON
CHORUS
TARA AUSTIN
KATIE COVENTRY
MILO HARRIES
SARAH HAYASHI
CATRIONA HEWITSON
POLLY LEECH
JULIEN VAN MELLAERTS
JOEL WILLIAMS
Laurence Cummings conductor
James Bonas director Molly Einchcomb designer
Rob Casey lighting designer
London Handel Orchestra
Adrian Butterfield leader
For many years Handel’s Giove in Argo (Jupiter in Argos)
remained virtually unknown because through an accident
of history no full score had survived. The discovery of two
missing arias in 2001 made it possible to reconstruct this
lost opera, which now appears on the London stage for the
first time since 1739. Handel took most of the numbers from
his earlier works but also supplied some outstanding new
music. Giove is a classic baroque pastoral, peopled with a
mix of gods and mortals, most of them in disguise,
wandering in a wood as Jupiter attempts simultaneously
to seduce two virtuous women with equal lack of success.
The score is rich in choruses—more than any other Handel
opera—dazzling virtuoso arias, and expressive accompanied recitatives. Restored to its rightful place
among Handel’s last operas, Giove in Argo can finally be savored in all its colorful charm.
John Roberts, Professor of Music, Berkeley Research, University of California
23rd production of a fully-staged Handel opera
in collaboration with the RCM International Opera School
TICKET PRICES: £60, £55, £50, £45, £30, £25, £20
Supported by the Handel Supporters
11
SATURDAY 28 MARCH
Workshop rehearsal from 11AM
Foundling Museum
40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ
Timing:
11am-1pm 2-2.30pm 2.30-5.30pm 7pm Choir only
Orchestra and soloists
Orchestra and Choir
Performance but no audience
SING MESSIAH (Parts 2 & 3 omitting ‘But thanks’)
Laurence Cummings conductor
Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo-soprano
Anna Gillingham soprano
Joshua Mills tenor
Joseph Padfield bass-baritone
Little Baroque Company & the Sing Messiah Choir
Come and enjoy another enormously popular day of learning and understanding
Handel under Laurence Cummings’ inspirational leadership, with soloists from the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and accompanied by the Little Baroque
Company.
TICKET PRICE: £25 for Choir members
no public performance
www.gsmd.ac.uk
www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk
SUNDAY 29 MARCH 6PM
Whitchurch Lane, Edgware
Middlesex HA8 6QS
CHANDOS AND ST LAWRENCE
GF Handel
Overture to Esther HWV50a
Chandos Anthem No 10
‘The Lord is my light’ HWV255
Chandos Anthem No 9,
‘O praise the Lord with one consent’ HWV254
Adrian Butterfield conductor
Members of the London Handel Orchestra
Pegasus
The Festival returns to the extraordinary surroundings of St Lawrence,
Little Stanmore, with a programme of Chandos Anthems.
TICKET PRICE:
£12 - unreserved seating
www.pegasusmusic.org.uk
www.little-stanmore.org
12
www.littlebaroqueco.com
TUESDAY 31 MARCH 7PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
HAYDN 7 STRING QUARTETS, OP 51
‘SEVEN LAST WORDS OF CHRIST’
Introduzione – Sonata I: Largo
Sonata III: Grave
Sonata V: Adagio
Sonata VII: Largo – Il Terremoto
Sonata II: Grave e cantabile
Sonata IV: Largo
Sonata VI: Lento
REVOLUTIONARY DRAWING ROOM
Adrian Butterfield violin
Rachel Stott viola
Kathryn Parry violin
Ruth Alford cello
The Revolutionary Drawing Room currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, performs Haydn’s set
of reflective and dramatic movements illustrating the Seven Words of the Saviour on the Cross.
Commissioned as a passion for the Cathedral at Cadiz, it was originally scored for full orchestra,
and was intended as instrumental music for reflection on the words delivered by the Bishop.
Haydn later made arrangements of the piece for string quartet, for fortepiano and eventually also
as an oratorio with SATB soloists and choir. The Revolutionary Drawing Room performs the string
quartet arrangement with readings.
TICKET PRICE: £10 - unreserved seating
www.revolutionarydrawingroom.com
WEDNESDAY 1 APRIL 7PM
Foundling Museum
40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ
THE ARCADIAN DREAM
GF Handel
Trio: Cantata: Duet:
Cantata: Duet: Duet: Cantata: Duet: Cantata: Trio: Se tu non lasci amore, HWV201
Dolc’ è pur d’amor l’affanno HWV109a
Nò, di voi non vo’ fidarmi HWV189
Dalla guerra amorosa HWV102
Tanti strali al sen mi scocchi HWV197
Giù nei Tarterei regni HWV187
Care selve, aure grate HWV88
Tacete, Ohimè, Tacete! HWV196
Lungi dal mio bel nume HWV127a
Quel fior, che all’alba ride HWV200
Susanna Fairbairn soprano
Maria Valdmaa soprano
Ewa Gubańska mezzo-soprano
Timothy Nelson baritone
Laurence Cummings director/harpsichord
Andrew Skidmore cello
Elizabeth Kenny theorbo
A delightful programme of Cantatas, Duets and Trios, showcasing the finalists from HSC 2014.
Chamber works that were written for Handel’s friends and patrons in Rome, ‘The Arcadian Circle’
as well as sketches for Messiah in duet form.
TICKET PRICE: £20 - reserved seating
www.susannafairbairn.com
www.timothynelson.co.uk
13
FRIDAY 3 APRIL 2.30PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
BACH ST MATTHEW PASSION BWV244
Nathan Vale Evangelist
George Humphreys Christus and arias
Anna Dennis soprano
Alexandra Gibson mezzo-soprano
Laurence Cummings conductor
London Handel Orchestra
Adrian Butterfield leader
Choir of St George’s
Join us for the Festival’s annual performance of Bach’s
St Matthew Passion, sung in German and set in the context
of Vespers.
TICKET PRICES: £45, £40, £35, £32, £30, £12, £10
reserved seating
www.nathanvaletenor.co.uk
www.imgartists.com/artist/george_humphreys
TUESDAY 7 APRIL 7PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
THE DRAGON OF WANTLEY
by John Frederick Lampe (1703–1751)
Margery of Rotheram Green:
SUSANNA FAIRBAIRN soprano
Moore of Moore Hall: GWILYM BOWEN tenor
Ars Eloquentiae
Chad Kelly and Leo Duarte directors
Ann Allen stage director
A tale of deadly deeds and comic escapades in which
Moore of Moore Hall vanquishes a dragon and claims the hand of Margery of Rotheram Green. Like the
venerable GF Handel, John Frederick Lampe was born in Germany but moved to England at an early
age, attracted by the cosmopolitan and entrepreneurial thrill of London. He played the bassoon in many
of the opera houses, often under the baton of Handel himself. His dabbling with serious opera writing
had little success, until his luck changed with The Dragon of Wantley, a comic parodying of the excesses
of Italian opera seen on the stages of London at the time. It ran for 69 nights straight, surpassing even
the ever popular Beggar’s Opera and remained in fashion for many years, being performed all around
the country.
Ars Eloquentiae is fast establishing a reputation as a versatile and vibrant ensemble specialising in
period performance. Ann Allen is a specialist player of early wood wind instruments and also works
as an opera director and has created a new style of atmospherically presented concerts.
TICKET PRICES: £35, £30, £28, £25, £23, £12, £10 - reserved seating
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WEDNESDAY 8 APRIL 7PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
HANDEL IN THE WIND
GF HANDEL arranged by Red Priest
Messiah Suite: Part 1, 2 and 3
Sonata in F major Op 2 No 4
Largo and Passacaglia in G minor
Vo Far Guerra (from Rinaldo) for Harpsichord Solo
Zadok the Red Priest
Recorder Sonata in B minor
Lascia Ch’Io Pianga
The Harmonious Blacksmith Variations
RED PRIEST
Piers Adams recorders
Julia Bishop violin
Angela East cello
David Wright harpsichord
Following the success of their programmes of Bach (‘Johann I’m Only Dancing’) and Vivaldi
(‘Carnival of the Seasons’), Red Priest will take us on a whirlwind tour through the music of that
other titan of the baroque, Georg Frederick Handel. Their new programme includes sonatas,
chaconnes and virtuoso variations, transcriptions both sublime and tempestuous and an
audacious suite drawn from his most celebrated work, Messiah.
TICKET PRICES: £15 - unreserved seating
www.redpriest.zooglelabs.com
THURSDAY 9 APRIL 6PM (Please note the time)
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
HANDEL SINGING COMPETITION Semi-Final
Following the First Round, held from 23-25 February, the fifteen semi-finalists come together to
perform at St George’s, Hanover Square, accompanied by the harpsichord. They will sing for
15 minutes each in a programme that is all Handel and which must include a recitative and aria;
plus a second aria without recitative; one of the arias should be in English. The Final will take place
on Monday 20 April.
The adjudicators for this round are: Ian
Partridge, Catherine Denley and Michael George.
Photos Chris Christodoulou from the Final on 18 March 2014:
Ewa Gubańska, Maria Valdmaa, Susanna Fairbairn, Timothy Nelson and Edward Grint
TICKET PRICE: £10 - unreserved seating
15
TUESDAY 14 APRIL 7.30PM (please note the time)
Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street
London W1U 2BP
ANNA MARIA STRADA AND GIOVANNI CARESTINI
Elizabeth Cragg soprano
Renata Pokupic mezzo-soprano
LONDON HANDEL PLAYERS
Rachel Brown flute/recorder
Adrian Butterfield violin Clare Salaman violin
Rachel Byrt viola
Katherine Sharman cello
Cecelia Bruggemeyer bass Alastair Ross harpsichord
Adrian Butterfield and the London Handel Players are joined by Elizabeth Cragg and
Renata Pokupic to sing some of the glorious arias and duets from Alcina and Il pastor
fido that Handel wrote for these Italian stars in the 1730s.
TICKET PRICES: £35, £30, £25, £18
Tickets are on sale from Wigmore box office from 3 February 2015.
020 7935 2141 or online www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
www.askonasholt.co.uk/artists/singers/soprano/sophie-bevan
www.danieltaylor.ca
SUNDAY
22 MARCH
2.30PM
MacLaren Hall, 11-13 Mandeville Place, London W1U 3AJ
TALES THROUGH MUSIC
The Little Baroque Company presents it’s first FAMILY CONCERT programme
for the London Handel Festival.
Tales through Music is a delightful musical journey through classic stories such as
Gulliver’s Travels and Don Quixote, which is ideal for children aged 5 to 12, as well
as parents and grandparents of all ages! These concerts are informal, fun and
educational. After the concert you’ll have the chance to meet the friendly
musicians of the ensemble! Come join us on our musical adventures!
Andrew Glover tenor and narrator
CHILDREN’S CONCERT
Helen Kruger director & violin
Claudia Norz violin Katie Heller viola
Natasha Kraemer cello Tom Foster harpsichord
TICKET PRICES: £15 adult; £8 children/student/concession;
£40 Family ticket (2 adults and 1 or 2 children)
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THURSDAY
16 APRIL 7PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
ROMAN CANTATAS BY HANDEL AND SCARLATTI
GF Handel
Cantata: Cantata: Cantata: Cantata: Trio Sonata in F major Op 2 No 4 HWV389
Manca pur, quanto sai HWV129
Armida abbandonata HWV105
Il Nerone (A Scarlatti)
Trio Sonata in D Op 1 No 2 (Geminiani)
Agrippina condotta a morire HWV110
Suzana Ograjenšek soprano
ODISSEA
Benjamin Bayl harpsichord/organ
Jorge Jimenez & James Toll violins Christopher Suckling cello
The programme presents Handel’s cantatas from his Italian period, all
probably written in Rome, and all focusing on strong heroines. The
fates of Armida, the heartbroken enchantress from Ariosti’s ‘Orlando
furioso’, and Agrippina, the mother of the Roman emperor Nero, were
popular eighteenth-century subjects. The intensity of Handel’s settings
makes his cantatas into psychological studies of heartbreak and betrayal with utmost dramatic impact.
Alessandro Scarlatti’s cantata Il Nerone complements the subject of Agrippina’s demise at the hands
of her son. As a lighter counterpart, Handel’s cantata Manca pur, quanto sai presents a nymph proudly
dealing with an unfaithful lover.
TICKET PRICE: £15 - unreserved seating
FRIDAY
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www.benjaminbayl.com
17 APRIL 7PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
MISSA ROMANA
Handel JF Rebel GPTelemann JS Bach GB Pergolesi Overture to Giustino HWV37
Les Caractères de la Dance
Concerto in G major
for 2 flutes & bassoon
Orchestral Suite No 3
Missa Romana
Soraya Mafi soprano
Bethany Seymour soprano
Tom Verney counter-tenor James Way tenor
Southbank Sinfonia Baroque
Adrian Butterfield director
Vox Musica Michael Berman conductor
Julian Perkins harpsichord/organ
Works from the great musical centres of Europe conclude
with Pergolesi’s glorious Missa Romana, written at the end
of his short life and impressively scored for soloists, choir and double orchestra. Southbank Sinfonia
brings together 32 outstanding graduates from all over the world to work together for a year in
preparation for the professional world.
TICKET PRICE: £14 - unreserved seating
www.southbanksinfonia.co.uk
17
MONDAY 20 APRIL 7PM
St George’s, Hanover Square
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX
2015 HANDEL SINGING COMPETITION FINAL
ADJUDICATORS
Ian Partridge Chairman (all rounds)
Catherine Denley (all rounds)
Michael George (all rounds)
Edward Blakeman (Final)
Sarah Connolly (Final)
Prizes: Regina Etz Prize £5000; Michael Oliver £2000
Farinelli Prize £2000; Selma D and Leon Fishbach Memorial Prizes for Finalists £300 each
Audience Prize - Michael Normington Prize £300
Criteria for the Final: All Handel, but no arias from Messiah
The Semi-Final will be held on Thursday 9 April at 6pm at St George’s, Hanover Square
TICKET PRICES: £45, £40, £35, £32, £30, £12, £10 - reserved seating
LUNCHTIME SERIES 2015
This series of lunchtime concerts takes place at ST GEORGE’S, HANOVER SQUARE,
St George Street, London, W1S 1FX. It principally gives performance opportunities
to young musicians including the finalists of the Handel Singing Competition in 2014.
ALL LUNCHTIME CONCERTS - TICKETS: £10 - concessions £8
THURSDAY 12 MARCH 1-2PM
TRINITY LABAN BAROQUE ENSEMBLE
As part of the London Handel Festival, Walter Reiter conducts Trinity Laban’s
Baroque Ensemble in works by Handel, Corelli, Purcell and Vivaldi. The ensemble
performs historically informed interpretations of this exciting repertoire on
modern instruments with baroque bows.
FRIDAY 13 MARCH 1-2PM
GUILDHALL SCHOOL CANTATA ENSEMBLE James Johnstone director
Marc-Antoine Charpentier Actéon changé en biche
Continuing their exploration of Charpentier’s influence on Handel through the
former’s teacher, Giacomo Carissimi, the Guildhall School Cantata Ensemble consisting of voices, recorders, violins, gamba, cello, theorbo and harpsichord present possibly Charpentier’s finest piece of musical theatre. This Pastorale, in
the form of a tragédie en musique, depicts the gory demise of the hunter Actéon.
18
LUNCHTIME SERIES 2015 - ST GEORGE’S, HANOVER SQUARE
MONDAY 16 MARCH 1-2PM
Finalist in the Handel Singing
Competition 2014
GF Handel
Neun deutsche Arien HWV202-210
Desterò dall’empia dite from Amadigi di Gaula HWV11
SUSANNA FAIRBAIRN soprano
Charlotte Fairbairn violin Ruth Alford cello
Christine Garratt flute
Mark Baigent oboe
Robert Vanryne trumpet Adrienne Black harpsichord
WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH 1-2PM
NEIL MCLAREN flute
LAURENCE CUMMINGS harpsichord
JS Bach GP Telemann
JS Bach Handel Sonata in A BWV1032
Fantasia in E for solo flute TWV40:10
Suite in B for solo flute BWV1008
Sonata in B HWV386b
In 1985 I got a call out of the blue from the London Handel Orchestra’s fixer
asking me to join the Festival for a performance of Bach’s Mass in A and the
Matthew Passion. It was exciting to be making my professional debut on the
baroque flute, and to be starting what has been a long and fulfilling career in
period instrument orchestras.
THURSDAY 26 MARCH 1-2PM
BAROQUE FROM THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC
Students from Historical Performance at the Royal College of Music
Corelli
Handel Vivaldi Trio sonata Op 2 No 12
Arias from Rodelinda
Trio Sonata in B minor HWV386b
Organ Concerto The Cuckoo and the Nightingale HWV295
Agitata from Griselda
FRIDAY 27 MARCH 1-2PM
Winner of the Regina Etz Prize
Handel Singing Competition 2014
EWA GUBAŃSKA mezzo-soprano
Fabrizio Longo violin
Riccardo Morini harpsichord
Ewa Gubańska, the Winner of the HSC 2014 brings a programme of works by
Porta, Gasparini, Domenico Scarlatti, Matteis, Mancini, Tessarini and Handel.
ALL LUNCHTIME CONCERTS - TICKETS: £10 - concessions £8
19
LUNCHTIME SERIES 2015 - ST GEORGE’S, HANOVER SQUARE
WEDNESDAY 8 APRIL 1-2PM
Winner of the Michael Oliver Prize & the
Audience Prize - Handel Singing Competition 2014
MARIA VALDMAA soprano
Janet Forbes recorder Elsbeth Robertson recorder/oboe
Lucia Capellaro cello Thomas Allery harpsichord
Handel Porpora Handel Cantatas: Mi Palpita il cor HWV132 / Non sospirar, non piangere HWV141
Cantata: Fille, narromi un giorno
Trio Sonata in F major / Telemann Da Jesu, deinen ruhm zu mehren
FRIDAY 10 APRIL 1-2PM
Finalist in the Handel Singing
Competition 2014
THE BEAUCHAMP ENSEMBLE
Alice Earll violin Elin White violin
Alexander Rolton cello
Nathaniel Mander harpsichord
T Merula Ciaconna
Handel Trio Sonata in B minor HWV386b
H Purcell Trio Sonata Op 1 No 10 in G minor
CPE Bach Sonata in C minor ‘Sanguineus and Melancholicus’ Wq 161 Nr 4
MONDAY
13 APRIL 1-2PM
KATHERINE CROMPTON soprano
HESPERI ENSEMBLE Mary-Jannet Leith recorder Elin White violin Ellen Bundy violin
Florence Petit cello Thomas Allery harpischord
Handel Salve Regina HWV241
H Purcell ‘The Plaint’ from The Fairy Queen Z.629
Telemann Trio sonata in A minor TWV 42:a4 from Essercizii Musici
Handel Gloria deest
learn and participate in
creating their own mini
opera; develop skills in
performance, music and
singing.
HANDEL HOUSE MUSEUM AND
THE LONDON HANDEL FESTIVAL
The Festival works with Handel House on two
projects each year to encourage children to gain
an understanding of Handel; his life and works.
SCHOOLS OPERA PROJECT – to actively engage
a school with the Learning Programme at Handel
House Museum and the London Handel Festival;
to provide a school with a snapshot or taster of
the full experience of composing, staging and putting on an opera; develop music workshops that
focus on cross curricular links with Music, History,
English and Drama; to encourage students to
20
BAROQUE DANCE PROJECT – for Primary School
Children to learn about and engage with Handel
and the baroque period through cross-arts. They
will learn about music performance, dance
performance, music history, the eighteenth
century and, through pre-prepared classroom
activities, arts, crafts and costumes. The children
involved tend to see it as a session through which
they can be very creative and I find that they
enjoy casting their imagination back to an historic
period of time and relating it back to the present
day. A chance to play with and hear professional
musicians tends to be very inspiring and engaging
for young minds.
If you would like to book your school for these
event, please contact Claire Davies on
020 7399 1952 - cdavies@handelhouse.org