Academy of Ancient Music Messiah Concert 2 & 3 December

Handel’s Messiah

Cambridge, London, UK and International performances

AC A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C

19-20

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC

Concert Programme

2019-20

Brockes-Passion

300th-Anniversary Release Over the last two years, AAM has worked closely with scholars and musicologists around the world to set down a staggering new edition of this compelling masterpiece. The new edition reinstatesreinstates the first 63 “missing” bars, brings in additional instruments, and showcases choruses and previous numbers omitted from other editions. Our exploration has taken in 15 sources from 11 collections, in nine cities across five countries.

The accompanying CD book acts as a comprehensive guide to Handel’s Brockes-Passion, including a complete guide to all known recordings of the work; detailed notes and commentary from Handel scholars; the first modern publication of the original Kurrentschrift text from the manuscript score, alongside modern German and AAM’s new translation; and for the very first time, the music from Charles Jennens’ 18th-century partial English translation in the appendices.

The book also includes striking artwork created by contemporary visual artist Emma Safe, live in response to AAM’s 300th-anniversary Good Friday performance.

Released in October 2019, this definitive guide to Handel’s Brockes-Passion is presented as a 3-CD deluxe package. For more information on the project, as well as to purchase your recording, visit: aam.co.uk

“A gruesomely graphic work to break Bach’s monopoly.” THE FINANCIAL TIMES Price £40 (3CD, deluxe)

Artists:

Richard Egarr director & harpsichord Elizabeth Watts Daughter of Zion Robert Murray Evangelist Cody Quattlebaum Jesus Gwilym Bowen Peter

Tim Mead Judas Ruby Hughes Faithful Soul Nicky Spence Faithful Soul Rachael Lloyd Mary / Faithful Soul Morgan Pearse Pilate / Centurion Choir of the Academy of Ancient Music

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2019-20 SEASON

Monday 2 December 2019 7.00pm Gresham Centre, London

Tuesday 3 December 2019 7.30pm Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge The contents of this programme refer to performances on 2 and 3 December.

Barnaby Smith conductor VOCES8 VOCES8 Scholars Apollo5

Friday 6 December 2019 7.00pm University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford

Owen Rees conductor Choir of The Queen's College, Oxford Rowan Pierce soprano Esther Brazil mezzo-soprano Peter Harris tenor Ashley Riches bass-baritone

Handel’s Messiah

Academy of Ancient Music

Handel’s Messiah

A C A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C 2019 - 20 S E A S O N

Welcome from Chief Executive, Academy of Ancient Music It is a pleasure to welcome you to tonight’s Messiah performance, always a highlights of AAM’s annual concert season. Directed by Barnaby Smith in the gorgeous setting of Trinity College Chapel (for which our thanks to the Master and Fellows of Trinity College), we welcome the combined forces of members of VOCES8, Apollo5 and the VOCES8 Scholars to join the Academy of Ancient Music for this seasonal concert.

Tonight’s performance (3 December) is being live-streamed on Facebook, and if you are at Trinity College we hope you will enjoy reliving the musical experience online at a later date. This season the Academy of Ancient Music is exploring the live-streaming of a number of our concerts to allow a wider audience to access our music-making from all around the world as well as those closer to our two primary UK homes of Cambridge and London who may not be able to make it to our concert halls. AAM is now the world’s most listened-to period-instrument ensemble, and last month became the first orchestra of our type to surpass one million monthly listeners on the leading streaming service, Spotify.

60% or those listeners are under 34, 50% are under 27 years old: we know that there is an appetite for the highest level

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of music-making that AAM presents across all generations, and we want our music to be available to all.

This additional activity, alongside a busy concert programme, recording schedule, and new research into unknown repertoire comes at a cost, and AAM receives no support from the Arts Council or other Government subsidy.

Thank you to our wonderful family of donors for their kind and generous support, without whom we could not do what we do. We are always delighted to hear from anyone who might be able to support us in any way – please do be in touch with me directly (alexander.vaningen@aam.co.uk).

Together we can help AAM underpin the superb work in the recording studio, in the classroom and on the concert stage that this brilliant orchestra has been known for nearly 50 years.

Alexander Van Ingen Chief Executive Academy of Ancient Music

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

Welcome from Artistic Director, VOCES8 On behalf of all the musicians I warmly welcome you to our Christmas Messiah. I’m sure for many of you an annual performance of Handel’s masterpiece marks, at least metaphorically, the day you put up your decorations and welcome in the season of goodwill. Handel’s Messiah has become a central feature of our musical year thanks to its unblemished brilliance, and its philanthropic history.

The humanity of the composer who gave so much to the Foundling Hospital in London, and who instigated regular Rachel Podger charitable performances of the Messiah for its benefit from 1750, is illustrated in a remark he made after being congratulated on such fine entertainment: “I should be sorry if I only entertained them. For I wished to make them better.” Both within its genre and well beyond, the oratorio is celebrated as a masterwork combining sublime melodies, perfect dramatic pacing and broad musical vistas.

“I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God himself” (Handel about the Hallelujah Chorus). But its real joy, and the genius of its composer, was to paint the miracle of the Christmas and Easter stories so effortlessly, touchingly reminding us of the messages of charity, love and goodwill at the heart of each season.

It is said that "necessity is the mother of all invention"; fuelled not just by his entrepreneurial spirit but also the needs of his audiences and society more broadly, Handel’s Messiah marks both major Christian feasts, making it performable not once, but twice a year. However, standing at over three hours in length when performed in full, I have chosen to draw upon the composer’s own creative mindset and cut down the work a little, choosing to focus mainly on the Christmas story. I hope that in doing so, we can together share a post-concert cup of convivial cheer, and still make it home in time to maintain our good humour as Christmas preparations continue apace.

AdviceHub, 66 Devonshire Road Cambridge, CB1 2BL www.percius.co.uk

Emergency contact numbers: Libby Percival: +44 (0) 7718 752481 Desireé Ayton: +44 (0) 7718 489964

Schedule from Monday, November 26 2018 to Saturday, December 1 2018 as at Friday, November 23 2018

BOOKINGS

Mon 26 Nov 2018 - Fri 30 Nov 2018 RP/V8: Guardian Angel Netherlands Programme

Gibbons, Orlando: Drop, drop slow tears Chant: Pater Noster Biber, Heinrich Ignaz Franz: Passacaglia in G minor for solo violin from the Mystery Sonatas "The Guardian Angel" Chant arr. VOCES8: Angelus ad Virginem Praetorius, Hieronymous: Angelus ad Pastores Ait á 8 Matteis, Nicola: Passaggio rotto, Fantasia, Movimento incognito (from Other Ayrs, Preludes, Allemandes, Sarabands) Purcell, Henry: Hear my prayer Purcell, Henry: I was glad Tallis, Thomas: O nata lux MacMillan, James: Domine non secundum peccata nostra Interval Tomkins, Thomas: When David Heard Bach, Johann Sebastian: Partita for Flute in A minor: I. Allemande Monteverdi, Claudio: Adoramus te, Christe Bach, Johann Sebastian: Partita for Flute in A minor: II. Corrente Dove, Jonathan: The Three Kings Bach, Johann Sebastian: Partita for Flute in A minor: III. Sarabanda Gabrieli, Giovanni: Angelus Domini Descendit Bach, Johann Sebastian: Partita for Flute in A minor: IV. Bouree Anglaise Park, Owain: Antiphon for the Angels (New Commission)

It is as ever a privilege to be able to indulge in performances of this iconic work; we hope it is for your pleasure as well.

From myself and the whole VOCES8 Foundation Choir team I wish you a heartfelt welcome, and glad tidings of great joy… "Veni, Veni Emmanuel".

Barnaby Smith Artistic Director VOCES8 and VOCES8 Foundation Choir

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AAM Quick Pick

“Feasting Reconciles Everybody"

Each concert Lars Henriksson picks out one key thing to listen out for.

Handel's propensity to overindulge was so strong that it once caused a rift between himself and his friend, the painter Joseph Goupy. At a frugal dinner Goupy had prepared, he caught the composer sneaking off to secretly eat "delicacies" Goupy could ill afford. Enraged by this snub, he wreaked revenge with his famous sketch The Charming Brute, showing the composer in an unflattering state of gluttony. Following extensive research, David Hunter, a Handel specialist, has concluded that the composer was most likely suffering from an compulsive eating disorder, its effects – including that of lead poisoning through imbibing too much wine – may have even influenced his composition choices. Handel was certainly partial to port so may have enjoyed this refreshment from John Nott's 1723 The Cook's and the Confectioner's Dictionary: Or, the Accomplish’d Housewife’s Companion:

Perhaps Handel’s most famous work, Messiah, was composed in an astounding 24 days. It sounds like an impossible achievement, but Handel partly recycled existing compositions in order to finish on time.

This was a very common practice during the baroque period, and Handel was a true master of remodelling earlier works in a new context.

Consequently a lot of the music we associate with Messiah already existed in three of Handel’s Italian duets: "His yoke is easy" and "And he shall purify" were drawn from Quel fior che alla'ride (July 1741); "Unto us a child is born" and "All we like sheep" from Nò, di voi non vo' fidarmi (July 1741).

For those who find this aspect of Handel’s compositional approach intriguing, it might be interesting to Google these duets* and find out what the originals sounded like.

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*Online programme readers – simply click on the Italicised titles of the works to find performances of the original works on YouTube..

Samuel Pepys

Wine a delicious sort.

Cut a couple of Pippins and a couple of lemons into a dish, with half a pound of fine sugar; a Quart of good red Port wine, half a dozen cloves, some cinammon powdered, and Orange Flower-water; cover these and let them infuse for three or four Hours: then strain it through a Bag, and give it a Flavour with a Musk or Amber, as you please.

Featuring Francesco Tristano (piano) | Mayah Kadish (violin) | Jonathan Roozeman (cello) & Lauri Porra (bass guitar) | The Marian Consort & Monterverdi String Band | Hille & Marthe Perl (electric viols) | Susanna | Stile Antico, Woven Gold & Rihab Azar | Singing Workshop with Stile Antico

10 to 12 January 2020 | LSO St Luke’s & Saint James Clerkenwell baroqueattheedge.co.uk

ESSENTIAL AUTUMN ALBUMS Lars Ulrik Mortensen & Concerto Copenhagen – Danish National Baroque Orchestra

N EW

Four Seasons – after Vivaldi Antonio Vivaldi recomposed by Karl Aage Rasmussen.

Musical direction: Magnus Fryklund & Lars Ulrik Mortesnen Album release: 6/9 2019 DACAPO 8.226220

The Brandenburg Concertos No. 1–6 »Unique sounds in Danish – Concerto Copenhagen is the only ensemble playing on original instruments in Scandinavia which has managed to have an international breakthrough – rightfully as their recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos shows.« Marco Frei, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, October 2018 CPO 555 158–2

coco.dk/en/discography/

MAY 29 TO JUNE 14, 2020 IN HALLE (SAALE), GERMANY in authentic venues in the city of George Frideric Handel’s birth

EXPERIENCE TESEO (HWV 9) OTTONE, Ré di Germania (HWV 15) MESSIAH (HWV 56) GALA CONCERTS with Valer Sabadus, Nathalie Stutzmann, Daniel Behle, Iestyn Davies and much more

SALES START NOVEMBER 28, 2019 handel-festival.com/en MORE INFORMATION: festspiele@haendelhaus.de

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

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Thank you

Programme Notes Dr Julia P Ellis

The AAM is indebted to the following trusts, companies and individuals for their support of the orchestra’s work.

Digital: Supporter Database Annual License Philip Jones

Discounted tickets for under 26s Philip Jones

AAM ACADEMY MUSIC SPONSORS Music Director Matthew Ferrey Leader Chris and Alison Rocker Sub-Principal First Violin Graham Nicholson Principal Viola Elizabeth and Richard de Friend Sub-Principal Viola Nicholas and Judith Goodison Principal Cello Dr Christopher and Lady Juliet Tadgell Principal Flute Terence and Sian Sinclair Principal Oboe David and Linda Lakhdhir Principal Theorbo John and Joyce Reeve Principal Trumpet John and Madeleine Tattersall

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Lady Alexander of Weedon Dr Carol Atack and Alex van Someren Elise Badoy Dauby Julia and Charles Bland Richard and Elena Bridges Mrs D Broke Hugh Burkitt Clive Butler Jo and Keren Butler Daphne and Alan Clark Kate Donaghy The Hon Simon Eccles Marshall Field CBE Malcolm and Rosalind Gammie Madeleine Gantley Christopher Hogwood CBE, in memoriam Graham and Amanda Hutton Mr and Mrs Evan Llewellyn Mark and Liza Loveday Anne Machin Roger Mayhew Alessandro Orsaria Christopher Purvis CBE and Phillida Purvis MBE Mrs Julia Rosier Sir Konrad and Lady Schiemann Mr Michael Smith Mrs S Wilson Stephens

Christopher Stewart Mr Peter Tausig Stephen Thomas Mr Anthony Travis Mrs Janet Unwin Julie and Richard Webb Mark West Mr Charles Woodward Tony and Jackie Yates-Watson and other anonymous ­donors

AAM ASSOCIATES Dr Aileen Adams CBE Angela and Roderick Ashby-Johnson Marianne Aston His Hon. Judge Michael Baker, Q.C. Professor John and Professor Hilary Birks Elisabeth and Bob Boas Mrs Stephanie Bourne Adam and Sara Broadbent George and Kay Brock Drs Nick and Helen Carrol David and Elizabeth Challen Derek and Mary Draper Nikki Edge Christopher and Jill Evans Tina Fordham Andrew and Wendy Gairdner The Hon. William Gibson The Hon. Mr and Mrs Philip Havers Miles and Anna Hember Mrs Helen Higgs Mr and Mrs Charles Jackson Heather Jarman Alison Knocker Richard and Romilly Lyttelton Richard Meade Mr Peter and Mrs Frances Meyer Mrs Marilyn Minchom Goldberg

Nick and Margaret Parker Peggy Post Chris and Valery Rees Jane Rabagliati and Raymond Cross Michael and Giustina Ryan Dr Robert Sansom The Hon. Zita Savile Thomas and Joyce Seaman Mr Peter Shawdon Mr Sarah Shepley and Mr Kevin Feeney Peter Thomson and Alison Carnwath Professor Tony Watts OBE Peter and Margaret Wynn Patricia C Yeiser, USA and other anonymous ­donors

Trusts & Foundations Ambache Charitable Trust Amberstone Trust Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation Constance Travis Charitable Trust J Paul Getty Jr General Charitable Trust John Armitage Charitable Trust John Ellerman Foundation Limoges Charitable Trust R K Charitable Trust Sir John Fisher Foundation William A Cadbury Trust and other anonymous trusts and foundations

COMPANIES Beaux Arts London Savills VCCP

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

Stephen Rose introduces Handel’s masterpiece The circumstances of the premiere of Messiah, in Dublin in April 1742, are well known. Handel was at a crux in his career. Having spent the previous 30 years mainly dedicated to the composition, promotion and performance of Italian-texted operas in London, he was increasingly preoccupied with English-texted oratorios on religious topics. Suffering from dwindling audiences for his music in London, he embarked in November 1741 on a nine-month residence in Dublin. Here he could present his music to new and enthusiastic audiences, as well as contemplate the future direction of his career in England.

Handel’s concerts in Dublin mostly included oratorios such as Esther and Alexander’s Feast, but also a performance of his last Italian opera Imeneo, and the premiere of Messiah. In recruiting a choir for these performances, Handel faced considerable opposition from Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, who disapproved of the members of his cathedral choir participating in “a club of fiddlers”. In the case of Messiah, however, Swift withdrew his opposition

because of the charitable aims of the performance, to raise money for a host of worthy causes in Dublin.

In the end, the first performances received a warm reception. As The Dublin Journal reported: “Words are wanting to express the exquisite Delight it afforded to the admiring crouded Audience. The Sublime, the Grand, and the Tender, adapted to the most elevated, majestic and moving Words, conspired to transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear.” The enthusiastic reception of Messiah in Dublin must have encouraged Handel to change tack in his London career, and thereafter compose and promote oratorios rather than opera. Yet the first London performance of Messiah (in March 1743, at Covent Garden theatre) was overshadowed by controversy about the performance of religious works in a theatre.

As a writer to the Universal Spectator complained: “An Oratorio either is an Act of Religion, or it is not; if it is, I ask if the Playhouse is a fit Temple to perform it in,

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Programme Note continued

or a Company of Players fit Ministers of God’s Word...?”

Slowly, however, the oratorio gained respectability, particularly after it was performed at the Foundling Hospital Chapel in May 1750. The Foundling Hospital was dedicated to the “Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children”, and was acutely short of funds in the mid-18th century. As with the Dublin premiere of Messiah, the charitable aims of the Foundling Hospital performance dispelled concerns about the work’s combination of a religious text and theatrical arias.

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Interesting though the series of early performances of Messiah might be, it is also fascinating to ask how the oratorio achieved its fame and ubiquity after Handel’s death. Regular performances at the Foundling Hospital continued into the 1760s, directed by Handel’s erstwhile assistant, John Christopher Smith the younger. In addition, the oratorio soon became a favourite in the repertory of provincial music societies as far afield as Derby, Liverpool and Newcastle, as well as in East Anglia and the West Midlands.

Messiah was performed not merely in concerts, but in events that called themselves festivals, and which often had charitable purposes and a strong sense of social ritual. For instance, in 1757 Messiah made its first appearance at the Three Choirs’ Festival, the annual event that rotated between the cathedrals of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford. The Festival (that still exists today) was partly intended to raise funds for the families of clergy and cathedral singing-men; but it was also a key date in the social calendar of local gentry, and was attended by councillors, members of parliament and other local worthies. With its religious texts and stirring music, Messiah rapidly became a staple part of these important local events.

Also significant were the two performances of Messiah at the 1784 Commemoration of Handel in Westminster Abbey. Celebrating what was then thought to be the centenary of Handel’s birth, the Commemoration showed how completely Messiah had been accepted by the English political establishment. The concerts were attended by the royal family and were financially

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

underwritten by members of both political parties (the Tories and Whigs). Using large performing forces – a total of about 500 performers – the 1784 concerts paved the way for the large-scale performances of Messiah staged in Victorian England.

By the middle of the 19th century, Messiah retained its popularity with the country’s elite, but was also being sung by the increasing numbers of amateur choirs found in industrial cities. In 1857 an incredible number of performances of the Oratorio took place across England, some of which were intended as dry runs for concerts planned for 1859 to celebrate the centenary of the composer’s death. The highlight of the 1857 performances was the Great Handel Festival at the Crystal Palace, London, on 15 June. It included a choir of about 2,000 voices, drawn from amateur musical societies across England, and an orchestra of 300 strings and 90 wind and brass players. The performance was a celebration not simply of Handel’s Oratorio, but also of English industrial ingenuity in bringing together

such an immense ensemble. Newspaper reviews paid almost as much attention to the special trains organised to bring the performers to London, as to Handel’s music or Charles Jennens’s libretto.

As The Musical World proudly commented in its review of the concert: “When Englishmen once make up their mind to do a thing – whether it be the repeal of the Corn Laws, the erection of a Menai railway bridge, the laying down of a transatlantic telegraph wire, or any other apparently impracticable task – the chances are a million to one that the scheme will be triumphantly carried out. Like Napoleon, Englishmen do not appear to recognize the right of the word ‘impossible’ to appear in the dictionary of their language.”

Yet the huge appeal of Messiah cannot be explained purely in terms of the political and social institutions with which it was associated. Nor can it be attributed solely

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Programme Note continued to the patriotism seen in the 1857 Great Handel Festival.

Handel’s music for Messiah offers a synthesis of styles Equally important factors in the success of the Oratorio and textures that has appealed greatly to audiences are its text and music. Charles Jennens’s libretto narrates ever since its premiere. There are relatively few the birth of Christ and his Passion, death and resurrection recitatives, but instead numerous sharply-characterised by quoting and paraphrasing numerous passages choruses and arias. Handel’s experience as an opera scattered throughout the Bible. It is no simple description composer is evident in the Oratorio’s arias, which of Christ’s life, but an account rendered each evoke an emotional state via in large part through the allusions carefully selected instrumental and The Great Handel of Old Testament prophecies. As vocal gestures. Some arias draw on the Festival at Crystal such the libretto incorporates such a stereotyped forms of Italian opera, such Palace in 1857 included wide selection of Biblical texts that it as the rage aria (“Why do all the nations resonates with Christians from a variety so furiously rage together”) or the a choir of 2,000 voices, of persuasions and historical periods. an orchestra of 300 strings bravura display piece (“Rejoice greatly, Moreover, unlike operas and many O daughter of Zion”). As in his operas, and 90 wind and brass. other oratorios, there is no attempt Handel sometimes includes pictorial to represent actual characters. There gestures that instantly convey a message is little dialogue or reported speech; to the listeners, such as the angry dotted instead, the texts are sung in the third person, avoiding rhythms on the words “He gave his back to the smiters” any crude attempt at literal portrayal of Biblical events, in “He was despised”. Yet despite this use of operatic and thereby gaining a sense of universality. elements, the arias also have a tuneful appeal that reflects Handel’s training in both Italian melody and

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H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

German counterpoint. The smooth and melodious lines of “He was despised” and “I know that my redeemer liveth” partly draw on the lyricism of opera around 1700, but are also supported by a firm sense of harmonic structure that Handel gained from his German upbringing.

Messiah is set apart from Handel’s operas by its many choral movements. Italianate opera mainly consisted of arias and recitatives, and rarely made use of a chorus. Handel’s oratorios, by contrast, drew on the English tradition of grand choral movements in church anthems and secular odes. Some of the choruses are exercises in homophony, such as “Since by man came death” with its contrasts between minor-key Grave sections and major-key Allegro passages. Other choruses show Handel’s skill, again gained from his German upbringing, in writing fugues. But most characteristic are those choruses that juxtapose homophonic and fugal sections. Thus “For unto us a child is born” starts as a fugue – albeit

with a transparent texture rarely heard in the works of German composers – and culminates in the chordal interjections on “Wonderful Counsellor”. Another powerful juxtaposition of homophony and fugue is found in the “Hallelujah” Chorus. Such choral writing is one of the main reasons why Messiah has appealed to generations of performers and listeners, from the 18th century right up to the present day.

Programme note © Stephen Rose

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George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)

Messiah HWV 56 (1741)

[The following libretto and soloists refer to performances on 2 and 3 December] PART THE FIRST Symphony Grave — Allegro moderato Accompagnato (tenor, Blake Morgan) Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ISAIAH 40.1-3 Air (tenor, Euan Williamson) Ev’ry valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.

ISAIAH 40.4 Chorus And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

ISAIAH 40.5

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Accompagnato (bass, Christopher Moore) Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Yet once, a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.

HAGGAI 2.6-7 The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.

MALACHI 3.1 Air (alto, Katie Jeffries-Harris) But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire.

MALACHI 3.2 Chorus And he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

MALACHI 3.3

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

Recitative (alto, Katie Jeffries-Harris) Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us.

ISAIAH 7.14; MATTHEW 1.23 Air (alto, Katie Jeffries-Harris and chorus) O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain, O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid, say unto the cities of Judah: Behold your God! O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, arise, shine for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

ISAIAH 40.9, 60.1 Chorus For unto us a Child is born, unto us, a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!

ISAIAH 9.6 Pifa (Pastoral Symphony)

Recitative (soprano, Eleonore Cockerham) There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Accompagnato (soprano, Eleonore Cockerham) And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid.

Recitative (soprano, Eleonore Cockerham) And the angel said unto them: Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Accompagnato (soprano, Eleonore Cockerham) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying: LUKE 2.8-13 Chorus Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will towards men!

LUKE 2.14 Please turn the page quietly

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Messiah Text continued Air (soprano, Penelope Appleyard) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is the righteous Saviour, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen.

ZECHARIAH 9.9-10 Recitative (alto, Katie Jeffries-Harris) Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.

ISAIAH 35.5-6 Duet (alto, Katie Jeffries-Harris and soprano, Eleonore Cockerham) He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, and he shall gather the lambs with his arm; and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

ISAIAH 40-11 Come unto him, all ye that labour, come unto him that are heavy laden, and he will give you rest. Take his yoke upon

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you, and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

MATTHEW 11.28-9 Chorus His yoke is easy, his burthen is light.

MATTHEW 11.30 There will be a short break; please remain in your seats.

PART THE SECOND Chorus Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him.

ISAIAH 53.4-5 Chorus And with his stripes we are healed.

ISAIAH 53.5

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

Chorus All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

ISAIAH 53.6 Accompagnato (tenor, Euan Williamson) All they that see him, laugh him to scorn: they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying: PSALM 22.7 Chorus He trusted in God that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, if he delight in him.

PSALM 22.8 Air (bass, Jonathan Pacey) Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing; the kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed.

PSALM 2.1-2

Chorus Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us.

PSALM 2.3 Recitative (tenor, Oliver Martin-Smith) He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision.

PSALM 2.4 Air (tenor, Oliver Martin-Smith) Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

PSALM 2.9 Chorus Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, Hallelujah!

The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever, Hallelujah!

King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and he shall reign for ever and ever, Hallelujah!

REVELATION 19.6, 11.5, 19.6

Please turn the page quietly

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A C A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C 2019 - 20 S E A S O N

Messiah Text continued PART THE THIRD Air (soprano, Andrea Haines) I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. JOB 19.25-6 For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep.

1 CORINTHIANS 15.20 Chorus Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 CORINTHIANS 15.21-2 Accompagnato (bass, Jonathan Pacey) Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

1 CORINTHIANS 15.51-2

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Air (bass, Jonathan Pacey) The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 CORINTHIANS 15.52-3 Chorus Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen.

REVELATION 5.12-14

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

Barnaby Smith Conductor Š Kaupo Kikkas

Philharmonic Orchestra, the Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Tokyo Opera City, Utrecht Early Music Festival.

Barnaby’s collaborators include Rachel Podger, Jonathan Dove, Jacob Collier, Academy of Ancient Music, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Barnaby is also Artistic Director of the Milton Abbey International Music Festival. Barnaby delivers masterclasses at universities and academic institutions around the world, and co-curates the Masters in Choral Studies with the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge.

Barnaby Smith and VOCES8 Barnaby Smith is Artistic Director and founder of VOCES8 and as such is in demand as a conductor, choir trainer, countertenor and arranger. Barnaby completed his studies in Specialist Early Music Performance at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis where he was a pupil of Andreas Scholl. Barnaby is also an alumnus of the Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme.

With a schedule that takes him around the world, highlights include performances at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal

On disc Barnaby has released commercially on Decca Classics, Universal, Sony, Naxos, Signum Classics, Warner Classics and VCM Records. He has four number one selling albums on the Decca Classics and VCM Records labels, and was delighted to receive the award for Album of the Year 2015 from Classic FM as well as being voted Choral Disc Choice Award by BBC Music Magazine in June 2014.

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VOCES8 British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading orchestras, conductors, and soloists.

VOCES8 has performed at many notable venues, from Wigmore Hall to NCPA Beijing and Palacio de Bellas Artes Mexico City.

As the group celebrates its 15th season they will perform in 14 countries, and collaborate with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and with baroque violinist Rachel Podger, continuing the critically acclaimed "Guardian Angel" project.

A Decca Classics/Universal artist, the group's latest release is Enchanted Isle. This season sees planned releases with Decca Classics as well as a series of 4 EP releases joining together into an album called After Silence on the group’s own label.

VOCES8 has premiered commissions from many composers including Jonathan Dove, Alexander Levine and Alec Roth.

2019 will see Roxanna Panufnik as the group’s Composer-inResidence, and Jim Clements as Arranger-in-Residence.

Passionate about music education, VOCES8 is the flagship ensemble of the music charity the VOCES8 Foundation Choir.

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Engaging in a broad range of outreach work that reaches up to 40,000 people a year, the group runs an annual programme of workshops and masterclasses at the Foundation’s home in London, the VOCES8 Centre at St. Anne and St. Agnes Church.

Dedicated to supporting promising young singers, the group awards eight annual choral scholarships through the VOCES8 Scholars initiative. These scholarships are linked to the annual Milton Abbey Summer School at which amateur singers of all ages are invited to work and perform with VOCES8. Through the separate VOCES8 USA Foundation there is another set of eight talented Scholars. The ensemble is proud to be the Associate Ensemble for Cambridge University and delivers a Masters programme in choral studies.

As ambassadors for Edition Peters the ensemble publishes educational material including the VOCES8 Method.

Developed by Paul Smith, co-founder of VOCES8, this renowned and unique teaching tool is available in four languages and adopts music to enhance development in numeracy, literacy and linguistics. Also available are two anthologies of its arrangements, and an ever-expanding "VOCES8 Singles" range. www.voces8.foundation / www.voces8.com

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

Apollo5

Singers

The international award-winning British vocal ensemble Apollo5 delights audiences with versatile and engaging performances on the concert platform, singing repertoire ranging from renaissance, classical and contemporary choral music to folk, jazz and pop.

Soprano Penelope Appleyard†§ Bobbie Blommesteijn** Eleonore Cockerham*§ Andrea Haines*§ Katherine Liggins‡ Hannah Littleton**

Tenor Andrew Bearden Brown** Jacob Ewens† Oliver Martin-Smith†§ Blake Morgan* Matt Swainsbury‡ Euan Williamson*§

Alto Katie Jeffries-Harris*§ Laura Lopes** Clare Stewart† Clare Sutherland‡ Lydia Ward‡ Chris Wardle**

Bass: Adam Jarman‡ Greg Link† Christopher Moore*§ Oliver Neale‡ Jonathan Pacey*§ Paul Smith**

Frequently performing in their home city of London, they have sung in venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Kings Place (London A Cappella Festival), the Barbican, the Houses of Parliament and Wembley Arena. They regularly give concerts at their home in the heart of the City of London, the Gresham Centre. This season the group will perform in the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the USA, and will collaborate with London Chamber Orchestra and l’Orchestre d’Avignon.

Apollo5 has released albums with Voces8 Records, including their new album O Radiant Dawn, which charted in the top 10 of the UK classical charts.

Apollo5 has appointed Fraser Wilson as Associate Composer.

Fraser will work closely with the group to create unique compositions and arrangements for the ensemble. Apollo5 will start to publish its musical arrangements with Edition Peters this season.

* Member of VOCES8 † Member of Apollo5 ‡ VOCES8 Scholar ** Guest Artist § Soloist

www.apollo5.co.uk

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A C A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C 2019 - 20 S E A S O N

Explore If you enjoyed tonight’s concert, you may be interested in the following recordings:

VOCES8 recordings:

Handel Messiah:

VOCES8, Les Inventions [Signum, SIGCD391]

Nelson, Kirkby, Watkinson, Elliot, Thomas, Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, AAM / Hogwood [Decca / L'Oiseau Lyre, 4788160, remastered 2014]

Winter

Nelson, Kirkby, Watkinson, Elliot, Thomas, Westminster Cathedral Choir, AAM / Hogwood [DVD: Warner Classics / Warner Vision, 0630178342]

Enchanted Isle

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, AAM / Cleobury [CD: Warner Classics, 2681562; also available as DVD] Jenkinson, Jones, Brooks, Davies, Spence, Dougan, Choir of New College Oxford, AAM / Higginbottom [Decca / L’Oiseau Lyre, 4119492]

Our Cambridge-based colleagues show just how much influence the period performance movement has had: Doyle, Davies, Clayton, Foster-Williams Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia / Layton [Hyperion, CDA67800]

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Benedetto Marcello, Psalmss

VOCES8 and guests [Decca, 4830968] VOCES8 [Decca, 4834670]

Equinox

VOCES8 [VCM Records, VCM121D] You can find many of AAM's recordings at www.prestomusic.com/aam. Receive £5 off when you spend £25 or more at Presto Classical with voucher code AAM2018.

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

Who we are and what we do The Academy of Ancient Music is an orchestra with a worldwide reputation for excellence in baroque and classical music. It takes inspiration directly from the music's composers, using historically informed techniques, period-specific instruments and original sources to bring music to life in committed, vibrant performances.

performances. (Among its countless accolades for recording are Classic BRIT, Gramophone and Edison awards.)

It has now established its own record label, AAM Records, and is proud to be the most listened-to orchestra of its kind online.

AAM's education and outreach programme, AAMplify, nurtures the next generation of audiences and The ensemble was founded by musicians. With this expanding Christopher Hogwood in 1973 and remains at the forefront of the worldwide programme, working from pre-school through tertiary education and beyond, early music scene more than four AAM ensures its work reaches the decades on; Richard Egarr became its widest possible audience and inspires Music Director in 2006. people of all ages, backgrounds and cultural traditions.

The Academy of Ancient Music has always been a pioneer. It was established This season AAM collaborates with to make the first British recordings of orchestral works using instruments from VOCES8, Lucie Chartin, Viktoria Mullova, Jean Rondeau, Alison Balsom, Sofi the baroque and classical periods and Jeannin, James the BBC Singers, the has released more than 300 discs, many Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, of which are still considered definitive

Milton Abbey International Music Festival and Loughborough Festival Opera. Programmes include large-scale vocal masterpieces such as Bach’s St. John Passion and Handel’s Israel in Egypt, as well the ground-breaking modern premiere of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s Mass in G Minor; a piece which hasn’t seen the light of day since 1811.

The AAM is based in Cambridge and is Orchestra-in-Residence at the city’s university. Its London home is the Barbican Centre, where it is Associate Ensemble, and it is also Orchestra-inResidence at the Grange Festival, Music at Oxford, the Apex, Bury St. Edmunds and VOCES8 Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival.

Visit www.aam.co.uk to find out more.

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A C A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C 2019 - 20 S E A S O N

Academy of Ancient Music Violin I Bojan Čičić Sijie Chen Liz McCarthy Violin II Jacek Kurzydło Persephone Gibbs William Thorp Viola Jane Rogers James O'Toole

Timpani Benedict Hoffnung Organ Christopher Bucknall Harpsichord Silas Wollston Theorbo Toby Carr Keyboard Technician Malcolm Greenhalgh

Cello Andrew Skidmore Imogen Seth-Smith Double Bass Timothy Amherst

Trumpet Robert Vanryne Phillip Bainbridge

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© Patrick Allen

Bassoon Zoe Shevlin

H A N DE L' S M E S S I A H

Music Director Richard Egarr

Head of Finance Julie Weaver

Hogwood Fellow Emma Safe

Head of Concerts and Planning Fiona McDonnell

Chief Executive Alexander Van Ingen

Head of Development Liz Brinsdon

Education and Outreach Manager Sue Pope

Concerts and Projects Co-ordinator Alice Pusey

Development and Media Co-ordinator Kemper Edwards

Librarian Emilia Benjamin

Board of Trustees

Development Board

Council

Paul Baumann CBE Hugh Burkitt Elizabeth de Friend Philip Jones (Chair) Ash Khandekar Graham Nicholson John Reeve Terence Sinclair Madeleine Tattersall Janet Unwin Kim Waldock

Elise Badoy Dauby Hugh Burkitt Elizabeth de Friend (Chair) Andrew Gairdner MBE Philip Jones Agneta Lansing Craig Nakan Chris Rocker Terence Sinclair Madeleine Tattersall

Richard Bridges Kate Donaghy Matthew Ferrey Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE Nick Heath Lars Henriksson Christopher Lawrence Christopher Purvis CBE

PR Consultant Artium Media Relations Programme Editor Sarah Breeden

Sir Konrad Schiemann Rachel Stroud Dr Christopher Tadgell The Lady Juliet Tadgell

(Honorary President)

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with Mary Bevan, Jennifer France and Laurence Cummings

HANDEL’S HEROINES Mary Bevan – Photo: Victoria Cadisch

Thursday 12 March 2020 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Thursday 19 March 2020 Milton Court Concert Hall, London Saturday 21 March 2020 Malvern Theatres Full programme details at aam.co.uk

Concerts in Cambridge Online cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/tickets Telephone 01223 357851 In person Cambridge Live Box Office, Wheeler Street

Concerts in London Online barbican.org.uk Telephone 020 7638 8891 In person Barbican Advance Box Office

Get involved: @AAMorchestra academyofancientmusic @aamorchestra

2019-20 concerts Salvation and Damnation Season highlights: Vivaldi and Pergolesi: Sacred Baroque Monday 11 November 2019 Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall Mozart’s Final Flourish Friday 7 February 2020 Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Saving Michael Haydn Tuesday 19 May 2020 Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall

oae.co.uk

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC Music Director Richard Egarr Hogwood Fellow Emma Safe Founder Christopher Hogwood CBE

11b King’s Parade, Cambridge CB2 1SJ +44 (0)1223 301509 info@aam.co.uk | www.aam.co.uk Registered charity number 1085485

Associate Ensemble at the Barbican Centre Orchestra-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge Orchestra-in-Residence at The Grange Festival Orchestra-in-Residence at the Apex, Bury St. Edmunds Orchestra-in-Residence for VOCES8 Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival Associate Ensemble, Teatro San Cassiano Research Partner: University of Oxford Partner: Culture Mile Network

All details correct at time of printing

aam.co.uk @AAMorchestra academyofancientmusic

@aamorchestra

Barbican Hall and Milton Court Concert Hall Barbican Advance Box Office, Silk Street Tel. 020 7638 8891 www.barbican.org.uk West Road Concert Hall Cambridge Live Tickets Box Office Tel. 01223 357 851 www.cambridgelivetickets.co.uk

Engage Join us on our journey to explore, reveal and preserve baroque and classical music.

Concerts

• brilliant music, expertly performed • inspirational, engaging performers at the highest level • detailed, informative programmes, free of charge • pre-concert talks and discussions • digital programmes and playlists sent in advance • post-concert listening and reading suggestions

Online

• past concert programme information • news and updates through social media • developing playlists for leading streaming services such as Spotify

Recordings

• over 300 albums, creating a substantial resource of historically informed

performance practice • our own record label, AAM Records • new Strategic Recording Fund enabling track-by-track recording of lesser-known works • making some of the finest performances available worldwide

Learning

• dedicated Education & Outreach Manager, curating programmes

for schools and communities • working with the next generation of performers and audience members • open rehearsals and opportunities to engage with performers and directors • high-level scholarship and research presented in informative ways • new baroque performance summer school in 2020

LOVE

CLASSICAL

MUSIC ?

Feed your curiosity and love of classical music by joining the Royal Philharmonic Society. Among the benefits, members can attend – and exclusively watch online – our talks and events in which great artists and musical heroes share their fascinating stories. Upcoming guests include Nicola Benedetti, Dame Sarah Connolly and Sir Thomas Allen, among others. Every subscription helps us to help emerging musicians follow in their footsteps and find their voice, ensuring classical music continues to thrive for years to come.

Find out more online at:

royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk

AAM Strategic Recording Fund The Academy of Ancient Music is listened to more than any other similar ensemble online, and our recordings reach millions of people every year through both this medium and radio broadcasts. Streaming data shows our music is being listened to as far afield as Mexico, Montreal, Tokyo and Taipei.

It is important that we engage strongly and swiftly with AAM’s new listeners that streaming services bring. This is why, in September 2017, we launched the Strategic Recording Fund. This Fund gives AAM the financial and artistic flexibility it needs to make fast, artistic-led decisions to record anything from just a single movement or aria to full works; to create first-rate materials to support our creative learning programme; to respond quickly to artistic priorities and demand for new recordings; and to adapt effectively to a changing marketplace in the consumption of music online.

Support for this Fund will make a huge difference to AAM’s artistic output and will help AAM secure itself as an authority in the performance and understanding of baroque and classical music.

If you would like to donate to the Strategic Recording Fund, or to find out more information about it, please contact support@aam.co.uk

Featuring on:

4,530,746 fans (28m listens)

Soprano Mary Bevan during filming. Photo: Alexander Van Ingen

The generosity of our supporters in response to this Fund enabled us to record a range of short educational and promotional videos throughout last season, as well as make an audio recording of our highly successful Mortal Voices tour with Keri Fuge and Tim Mead in spring 2018.

AAM’s Legacy Giving Dame Emma Kirkby “I was so lucky to sing over many years with Christopher Hogwood and his Academy of Ancient Music. Christopher based his work on sound scholarship and was all his life a generous educator.

He also looked to AAM’s future, choosing his successors carefully, so that the orchestra remains in excellent hands.

When Christopher died in 2014, a grievous loss to us all, his final gift was a generous legacy to AAM. Under Richard Egarr the orchestra and choir continue to flourish, bringing joy and inspiration to new audiences, and especially to young players, singers and listeners through the educational initiative, AAMplify.

I salute Christopher for his care and foresight, and also AAM’s loyal Friends who have been with us throughout: thank you for all you have done up to now, and especially for any future bequests!”

Frances Hogwood “I am honoured to support AAM’s Legacy campaign. [My brother] Christopher was able to make such a difference to the musical world, and so much of the way we perform and listen to music now is his legacy to us. He left his beloved orchestra a generous legacy too, that they may continue to flourish and build on his achievements; and I hope that many of us might consider a similar gift in support of this wonderful group to ensure that this powerful, passionate music lives on, changing lives for future generations too.“

Remembering AAM in your Will The Academy of Ancient Music is committed to bringing more early music experiences to more people every year, and we are determined to preserve our music and music-making so that it can be enjoyed by generations to come. Our music moves audiences now just as it did when first written, and the commitment and generosity of our supporters ensure it continues to be powerful and immediate for audiences of the future.

If AAM has enriched your life by performing music that you love, please consider remembering AAM in your Will; help us to pass on our extraordinary treasure house of early music to the next generation. There may also be tax benefits* for your estate should you wish to leave a percentage of your estate to charity.

Gifts that are left to the Academy of Ancient Music in Wills are one of the most important ways you can support our work.

Joining our Legacy Circle will bring you into AAM’s unique and convivial supporting community, and you will be invited to an annual lunch as a thank you for your generosity, so that we can keep you updated with AAM’s work. Your gift today is supporting AAM’s artistic activities of tomorrow.

If you would like to find out more about AAM’s Legacy Circle, please contact Liz Brinsdon, Head of Development on liz.brinsdon@aam.co.uk or 01223 341090.

Every gift in every Will makes a difference – however large or small. * as every individual situation is different, we recommend taking professional advice when assessing potential tax benefits.

AAM tops the Charts!

Handel: Brockes-Passion We are delighted to announce that our recent release of Handel's Brockes-Passion made it to No.1 in the UK’s Specialist Classical Chart, and is already garnering some excellent reviews: “It’s the most astonishing piece… so humane, so dramatic, it really borders on the operatic… it’s a beautifully made recording… and this is just a beautiful set to hold, to look through – it sets the context perfectly and you seriously get value for money with this entire recording… I’d listen to this again and again.“ Andrew McGregor and Elin Manahan-Thoms, BBC Radio 3 CD Review, 12 October 2019 “superb recording… combines serious musicological and historical scholarship with vibrant musicianship and artistry… The AAM Chorus are in fine voice… AAM’s recording offers a Passion for all times and all places.”

Claire Seymour, Opera Today, October 2019 “Please welcome this exciting Brockes-Passion, in such a vibrant and luxurious recording.”

Geoff Brown, The Times 5* review 4 October 2019 “In Egarr’s hands, this neglected work is revealed as a lost masterpiece… this tercentenary recording restores it magnificently to the canon… the solo singing is outstanding.”

The Sunday Times, Album of the Week, 22 September 2019

There have been interviews on BBC Radio 4 Sunday (29 September), BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Classical Cambridgeshire (26 September) and Radio Scotland (13 October) that can be found on the BBC Sounds app.

See the inside front cover for further details of this outstanding 3-CD deluxe package or visit aam.co.uk/listen.

VOCES8

Choral Dances

© Kaupo Kikkas

Thursday 19 March 2020, 7pm Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge

Internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble VOCES8 presents Choral Dances, a foot-tapping celebration of choral music inspired by dance. In a programme featuring music from chapels and courts, to cinemas and clubs, Renaissance repertoire sits alongside more contemporary Jazz arrangements to get you singing in the aisles, giving VOCES8 the chance to showcase its inimitable stage moves.

The programme includes a short presentation by students from education project Roots. Roots is delivered in partnership between the VOCES8 Foundation Choir, the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge Early Music, Cambridgeshire Music, Brook Street Band and Anglia Ruskin University. Roots is supported by funding from Arts Council England and the Chapman Charitable Trust.

We’re supporting REMA’s Early Music Day 2020 for Bach’s birthday anniversary celebrations.

Book online via www.cambridgeearlymusic.org https://tinyurl.com/sutd9zn

SACRED CANTATAS

Benjamin Appl – Photo: Lars Borges / Sony Classical

Bach&

Masato Suzuki

director, harpsichord & organ

Benjamin Appl baritone

the Divine Wednesday 15 January 2020 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge

Leo Duarte oboe

Sunday 19 January 2020 Milton Court Concert Hall, London Full programme details at aam.co.uk

Concerts in Cambridge Online cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/tickets Telephone 01223 357851 In person Cambridge Live Box Office, Wheeler Street

Concerts in London Online barbican.org.uk Telephone 020 7638 8891 In person Barbican Advance Box Office

Get involved: @AAMorchestra academyofancientmusic @aamorchestra

J.S. BACHOrchestral Suites

A selection of our critically acclaimed recordings are available to buy tonight, or online aam.co.uk/recordings

“Exuberant and full of vitality.” BBC Radio 3 “a feast of meaningfully understated musicianship. I loved it.”

HANDEL Brockes-Passion

(1724 version)

£40 (3 CD, deluxe)

With an all-star cast including James Gilchrist as Evangelist and Matthew Rose as Jesus.

DARIO CASTELLO

£20 (2 CD)

Sonate Concertate In Stil Moderno, Libro Primo

BIRTH OF THE SYMPHONY:

Handel to Haydn

“AAM’s performances gave virtually unalloyed pleasure” GRAMOPHONE “A striking success” BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

£12

J.S. BACH

St. Matthew Passion

AAM001

AAM005

“A joy for ear and spirit” GRAMOPHONE “This is a gem of a CD” THE STRAD

(1727 version)

GRAMOPHONE

£25 (3 CD)

£12

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC at

“Egarr’s compellingly original vision of this greatest of all musical tombeaus, with its fresh anticipation founded on collective adrenaline and uniformly outstanding lyrical Bach-singing … is a triumph.”

AAM040

AAM004

£20 (2 CD)

J.S. BACH St. John Passion

AAM002

AAM007

300th anniversary recording from our new edition of the score, new in 2019.

“A gruesomely graphic work to break Bach’s monopoly” THE FINACIAL TIMES

AAM003

Editor’s Choice, GRAMOPHONE

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This two-disc compilation of core baroque and classical repertoire gives a taste of our unrivalled award-winning catalogue of over 300 recordings.

£20 (2 CD)

Get involved: @AAMorchestra academyofancientmusic @aamorchestra Watch season trailers: acadofancientmusic

Associate Ensemble at the Barbican Centre Orchestra-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge Orchestra-in-Residence at The Grange Festival Orchestra-in-Residence at the Apex, Bury St Edmunds Orchestra-in-Residence for VOCES8 Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival Associate Ensemble, Teatro San Cassiano Research Partner: University of Oxford Partner: Culture Mile Network Music Director: Richard Egarr Hogwood Fellow: Emma Safe Founder: Christopher Hogwood CBE 11b King’s Parade, Cambridge CB2 1SJ +44 (0) 1223 301509 info@aam.co.uk www.aam.co.uk Registered charity number 1085485 All details correct at time of printing

Design by Apropos Cover Photo: Patrick Allen

Full programme details at aam.co.uk