Foreign Inspiration: Visitors from across the Channel - Pacific Baroque Festival 2023 "Music for Distracted Times"

An evening of inspirational music created by the plethora of European composers attracted to the vibrant scene of 17th century London.

With the advent of public concerts, the fascination with opera, and the opening of the ‘pleasure gardens’, London, as the largest city in Europe, became a hive of musical activity during the 18th century. The plethora of musical opportunities attracted foreign musicians, especially from Germany and Italy, to visit or make their home there. One could hear the very latest compositions played by the best musicians of the day, most notably George Frederic Handel, who became a kind of composer-in-residence at the Vauxhall pleasure gardens during the 1730s. Another opportunity to appreciate the wonderful voice of soprano Arwen Myers, praised for her "crystalline tone and delicate passagework", who will be accompanied by the Pacific Baroque Festival Ensemble.



The 2023 Pacific Baroque Festival focuses on the music of 17th and 18th century England. With an ensemble of two violins, two viols, lute, harpsichord and organ, along with the wonderful soprano voice of Arwen Myers, we explore this rich period in music in which the political tumult of the early 1600s gave way to London becoming the largest city in Europe and a centre of artistic expression. Charles II’s reign saw the composition of the first English operas, the opening of the first public concert halls, and an influx of talented musicians from abroad which continued into the 18th century.



CONCERT PROGRAMME

Nicola Matteis

‘Aria Amorosa’ for two violins and basso continuo, from ‘Ayres for the violin, the Fourth part’



Johann Christian Bach

Keyboard Concerto Op.1, No.6 (Variations on ‘God Save the King’)



Gottfried Finger

Passacaglia for two bass viols



Johann Christoph Pepusch

Trio Sonata in e minor



Attilio Ariosti

Cantata: ‘L’Olmo’



Giovanni Bononcini

Cantata ‘Barbara ninfa ingrata’



Francesco Geminiani

Cello sonata in C Major, H.105, Op. 5, No.3



George Frederick Handel

Cantata ‘Armida Abandonata’, HWV 105