Pepys the musician: music by Cesare Morelli

Cesare Morelli is not a household name. He was a 17th century Italian musician whose posthumous reputation now owes something to the fact that his employer from 1675 to 1682 was one Samuel Pepys, and Morelli, a singer and guitarist in Pepys' household, wrote songs for Pepys. A programme on Morelli is planned for BBC Radio 4 and the programme will look at four neglected music manuscripts written for Samuel Pepys by Cesare Morelli (who was a Roman Catholic), giving us a fresh window on to the religious Catholic/Anglican struggles of the 16C and 17C, through the relationship between Pepys and Morelli.

As part of this, there is a concert of Morelli's music Pepys the Musician, at St Olave's Church, Hart Street, London EC3R 7NB tonight (15 February 2016) at 8pm. Bass baritone David Ireland, guitarist Toby Carr and lute/theorbo player James Bramley will be performing a selection of songs by Morelli, plus one by Pepys himself and Morelli's arrangement of Pelham Humphrey's Lord I have sinned which was made for Pepys. Dionysius Kyropoulos, the stage director and academic who has done a lot of work on Morelli's music, will also be talking.

Full details from the Overtone Productions website. The finished programme is planned for 11.30am, 4 April 2017 on BBC Radio 4.