Looking back on a successful season
Launched in 2023, The English Concert’s Handel for All project is building a new legacy by filming every piece of Handel’s music and creating an online resource that is free and accessible to anyone, anywhere.
Handel for All aims to break down perceived barriers to engagement with baroque music, bringing the joy and genius of Handel’s music to everyone.
In this post, we reflect on the projects and milestones from the 2024/25 season.
Recent releases
In 2024-25, with support from our generous funders and supporters, Handel for All (H4A) has continued to grow from strength-to-strength. A highlight was the release of the Foundling Hospital Anthem recording. This was filmed in 2023 at the Barbican during the H4A launch event, where the anthem seemed to capture the spirit of the whole initiative.
Handel composed the piece for a fundraising concert, in an act of generosity to the children of the Foundling Hospital. We hope to keep the spirit of this generosity alive in our sharing of the recording through H4A.
In November 2024, we hosted a special online event to celebrate the addition of this piece to the H4A library, featuring contributions from Coram, the children’s charity that continues the Foundling Hospital’s legacy in the 21st century. They have kindly provided an educational article about the foundations of this music, which is now available to read online.
We are also pleased to release the Brockes Passion. Filmed at the London Handel Festival in 2023, this performance received a plethora of excellent reviews, including 5* in The Times from Daniel Lewis, who wrote that it “was something of an Easter miracle.”
As part of Handel for All’s educational outreach initiatives, our H4A recording of the Music for the Royal Fireworks was featured in a recent episode of ‘Classics Explained’ – a YouTube series that introduces children and young people to classical music. The Classics Explained video, all about the music written by Handel for public spectacles in London, had received more than 14,000 views by the end of the season.
In the pipeline
During the 2024/25 season, we filmed 15 new pieces. These as-yet unreleased videos will be edited and shared widely over the coming months. The repertoire recorded this year ranges from smaller-scale recorder sonatas and Italian cantatas to major oratorio and opera works (Esther and Giulio Cesare in Egitto).
May 2025’s Cesare received widespread critical acclaim, with the New York Times writing that TEC “sets a standard for Handel performance in the 21st century.” Thanks to those who support Handel for All, this momentous project has been preserved for future generations to enjoy. We are pleased to be sharing this exclusive preview of the film here:
We also continued to edit and release the already-recorded music from previous seasons, as it makes its way through our rigorous editorial process, which is just as important to get right as the performance. This includes our critically acclaimed production of Rodelinda, recorded in December 2023, which will be released later in 2025, coinciding with the 300th anniversary of the piece’s premiere in 1725.
The 2025-26 season coincides with two major international opera tours: Rinaldo (October 2025, tour of Asia) and Hercules (March 2026, United States). The US tour includes TEC’s annual performance at Carnegie Hall, which has become an important fixture in our duties as global ambassadors for Handel and for British music-making.
Audience Reach and Impact Statistics
The aim of this project has always been to share the enjoyment of exceptional music with people who may not have access to live performances.
We are delighted by both the quantitative demand for a project like this, as well as the personal messages that show we are reaching those for whom it will have a significant impact:
In numbers…
- Over the 24-25 year, H4A recordings amassed over 500,000 views, contributing to a total of more than 900,000 views since the project launched
- The total watch-time of H4A videos reached more than 110,000 hours (equivalent to almost 13 years)
- H4A reached audiences in 65+ different countries
- More than 3,100 new subscribers signed up to TEC’s YouTube during the season (the main channel we use for distributing new H4A videos). This is an increase of almost 75%
and in words…
- ‘This project is incredible. Keep up the beautiful work. Thank you.’
- ‘I love your online presence. I am elderly and have played and taught violin and viola for many years. I have a very modest pension and am grateful to be able to hear you without cost.’
- ‘What an all-encompassing soul-stirring, goose-bump inducing feast for the ears!’
- ‘What an incredibly noble and blessed project – thank you all involved’.
- This Handel for All video ‘Gives me the feeling of being at a live performance’.
Thank you
We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported The English Concert and Handel for All over the course of the 2024-2025 season, whether through donations to the Big Give Christmas Challenge in December, support of our project to film Esther at the West London Synagogue in March, ongoing membership of TEC, or simply watching, sharing and enjoying the catalogue of H4A videos. This project truly is an example of creative collaboration at its most ambitious, and we are so grateful to have you along for the journey.
To learn more about our Handel for All aims, and watch the catalogue of already-released films, please visit the Handel for All page on our website. We will continue to keep you updated as we release more videos into the catalogue and capture new recordings.
The best time to support Handel for All in the 2025/26 season is during The Big Give Christmas Challenge: for one week from 2-9 December, donations are automatically doubled up to £40,000.
