Monday 12 August 2013

Autumn at the Handel House Museum

Philip Mercier: Handel composing at a single manual harpsichord, c 1730.
The Handel House's Autumn season includes a number of intriguing events. Composer in residence Cevanne Horrocks Hopayian presents a series of concerts themed on duels, Handel's Muses reaches Anna Maria Strada and Elisabeth Duparc and we get to examine music played for Louis XIV's dinners.

Richard Egarr is in residence with recorder player Pamela Thorby, performing Bach's French Suites and music by Charles Dieupart (c1667 - 1740) - 9 & 10 September.  And composer in residence is Cevanne Horrocks Hopayian. She presents four concerts on a theme of duelling, with husband and wife violinists Ellie Fagg and Tom Norris (17/10), Hugh 'Crewdson' Jones playing his electronic concertina (20/10), virtuoso guitarist Christ Montagu (24/10) and a duel between Red Priest's harpsichordist David Wright and Bjork's percussionist Manu Delago (27/10).

The series Handel's Muses returns. The third installment with soprano Sarah Gabriel, looks at the life and career of Anna Maria Strada who performed in London from 1729 to 1738 and for whom Handel wrote a number of roles including the title role in Alcina and Ginevra in Ariodante - 12 September. And a final installment looks at the life of French soprano Elisabeth Duparc, La Francesina, for whom Handel wrote the title roles in Deidamia and Semele.

Other concerts include birdsong inspired music by Couperin, Rameau, Dornel, Duply and Daquin performed by Masumi Yamamoto (19/9), keyboard duets from Petra Hajduchova and David Wright (29/9), the Amorosi Duo in music for flute and harp by Jean Michel Damase (1928 - 2013), Handel and Piazzola (3/10). The British Harpsichord Society are presenting Thomas Foster and Pawel Siwczak exploring the harpsichord music of Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (1656 - 1746). Fischer was a German composer who was heavily influenced by Lully (19/10). Dr Elena Vorotko gives a lecture recital on Frescobaldi, exploring the connections between his music and that of  his followers (5/10).

The Bach Players perform chamber music that was performed for Louis XIV, Poure le Souper du Roy including music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and Marin Marais enactment of a surgical operation (7/11). Whilst Elena Artamonova and Kamilla Isanbaeva chart the development of viola sonatas in German and Italy in the 17th and 19th centuries (28/11).

Christmas pops up in a number of ways. Arcata Baroque perform Christmas songs from Lampe's Hymns on the Great Festivals, one of the first publications of music intended for the Methodists, along with Christmas music from Bach's Anna Magdalena Songbook (5/12). The Cries of London are offering a Medieval to Modern Christmas from Byrd to Meixan guaracha (12/12) and the last concert of the year takes place at St. George's Hanover Square with arias from Messiah and organ music on the Handel House organ (19/12).

The current exhibition which runs until 17 November explores the year 1713

Elsewhere on this blog:

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