Highlights include:
- Countertenor Iestyn Davies leads an all-Handel programme featuring arias and secular cantatas at York Mansion House
- The English Concert performs at Handel Hendrix House with a series of concerts celebrating Handel’s influence on London’s musical life
- Kristian Bezuidenhout directs Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.4 and three cantatas with a stellar cast of soloists
- Harry Bicket directs Handel’s Messiah in Southampton, Udine, and San Sebastian
- The English Concert celebrates the festive season with baroque Christmas works by Charpentier, Purcell, Stradella, and Bach
The English Concert presents its concert programme for Autumn 2024, celebrating the legacy of baroque composers Bach and Handel, led by the musicians who continue to champion their works. The orchestra will be led by Kristian Bezuidenhout and Harry Bicket, in addition to collaborating with stellar soloists including Iestyn Davies, Lucy Crowe, Katie Bray, Alexander Chance, James Way and Matthew Brooke.
Harry Bicket, Artistic Director of The English Concert, says:
“Our Autumn concert programme is a vibrant celebration of the timeless brilliance of Bach and Handel, brought to life by our dedicated musicians and distinguished collaborators. With the exceptional talents of Iestyn Davies, Kristian Bezuidenhout, and our brilliant soloists, we’re poised to explore these masterpieces with fresh perspectives. We look forward to sharing this vibrant season with our audiences, bringing these timeless pieces to life once more.”
York Mansion House – Iestyn Davies: 28 September
Countertenor and long-term collaborator of The English Concert, Iestyn Davies, presents an intimate all-Handel programme at York Mansion House. The programme features a range of Handel’s arias from Serse, Agrippina and Rinaldo, in addition to a selection of the composer’s secular continuo cantatas: Fra pensieri quell pensiero, Dolc’è pu d’amor l’affanno, Lungi da me pensier tiranno! and Nel dolce tempo.
Handel Hendrix House Residency: 7 – 12 October
The English Concert commences its residency with Handel Hendrix House, with three concerts marking the importance of Handel’s influence on London’s musical life. The opening concert, Monday Matinée (7 October, 1pm) will see the inaugural performance from Fellows of The English Concert. Fellows for the 24/25 season include soprano Emy Gazeilles performing arias from Handel’s Giulio Cesare as arranged by the composer for performance at home.
St Martin-in-the-Fields – Kristian Bezuidenhout: 17 October
The English Concert celebrates Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.4 led by Principal Guest Director and harpsichordist Kristian Bezuidenhout with solo violin Nadja Zwiener and recorder players Tabea Debus and Katrin Lazar. This performance will also see the ensemble joined by soprano Lauren Lodge-Campbell, countertenor Alexander Chance, tenor Hugo Hymas and bass Matthew Brook for an exploration of three cantatas full of spiritual drama and energy: ‘Widerstehe doch der Sünde’, ‘Komm, du Süße Todesstunde’ and ‘Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich’.
Messiah Tour: 12, 15 & 18 December
Director Harry Bicket leads Handel’s legendary seasonal oratorio Messiah, with soloists Chiara Skerath, Katie Bray (12 December) and Jess Dandy (15 & 18 December), James Way, Neal Davies and the choir of The English Concert. The tour will see performances at Turner Simms in Southampton (12 December), Udine’s Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine (15 December) and San Sebastian’s Auditorio Kursaal (18 December).
Wigmore Hall – Harry Bicket: 21 December
Following on from a European tour of Messiah, The English Concert continues to ring in the festive season with a special performance at Wigmore Hall. A selection of Christmas works will see Harry Bicket direct Lucy Crowe, Katie Bray, Jess Dandy, James Way and Morgan Pearse in performances of Charpentier’s In Nativitatem Domini Nostri, Purcell’s Behold, I bring you glad tidings and Stradella’s Si apra al riso ogni labro, before concluding the concert with Bach’s Magnificat 243, featuring the additional Christmas interpolations.
UK Performances
York Mansion House with Iestyn Davies, Saturday 28 September
Handel Hendrix House residency, Monday 7 – Saturday 12 October
St Martin-in-the-Fields with Kristian Bezuidenhout, Thursday 17 October
Turner Simms, Southampton with Harry Bicket, Thursday 12 December*
Wigmore Hall with Harry Bicket, Thursday 21 December
*With Katie Bray as mezzo soprano soloist.
International Performances
Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine with Harry Bicket, Sunday 15 December
Suditorio Kursaal, San Sebastian with Harry Bicket, Wednesday 18 December
About the English Concert
The English Concert is an outstanding orchestra: exceptional, in the world-renowned quality, ambition and variety of its live and recorded output; unique, in the zeal of its players for working and performing together; unwavering, in its desire to connect with its audience throughout the world.
Under the artistic direction of Harry Bicket and principal guest Kristian Bezuidenhout, The English Concert has earned a reputation for combining urgency, passion and fire with precision, delicacy and beauty. The artistic partners the orchestra collaborates with reflect and enhance its pursuit for new ways to bring music to life. Joyce DiDonato, Dame Sarah Connolly, Iestyn Davies, Alison Balsom, Trevor Pinnock, Dominic Dromgoole, Tom Morris and many more have not only brought their extraordinary skills to individual projects but continue to help the ensemble to shape the way it performs.
One cornerstone of the orchestra’s annual cycle is its international Handel Opera tour. Blossoming from an ongoing relationship with Carnegie Hall, the itinerary now regularly takes in the Theater an der Wien, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Elbphilharmonie and Barbican Hall, and the roster of great halls continues to grow. Meanwhile, the orchestra’s regular London series allows it to explore a radically different path, presenting programmes to its home audience that challenge and inspire. The English Concert is also associate orchestra at Garsington Opera.
In 2023, The English Concert launched Handel for All, an ambitious journey to film every single piece of Handel’s music, creating an online resource of vivid and engaging performances that are free and accessible to anyone, anywhere. This resource offers an online library of video recordings, with new works added regularly.
