Thursday 13 March  7pm
St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London
Handel Joshua HWV 64

Katherine Manley soprano
Alexandra Gibson mezzo-soprano
Allan Clayton tenor
George Humphreys bass-baritone
Laurence Cummings conductor
London Handel Orchestra
Adrian Butterfield leader
London Handel Singers

In Joshua, first performed in March 1748, the story of the Israelites taking possession of the promised land of Canaan is interwoven with the more intimate portrayal of the love of the young warrior Othniel for Achsah, daughter of the senior Israelite Caleb. Among several remarkable choruses are thrilling depictions of the battles of Jericho and Gibeon, as well as ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’ (later transferred to Judas Maccabaeus), and ‘Oh had I Jubal’s lyre’ is the best known of the many tuneful arias.

Supported by Friends of the LHF
This concert was recorded by SOMM Recordings for release in 2008/2009.

Monday 17 March  7pm
Foundling Museum, Brunswick Square, London
Love, the cruel tyrant
Ana-Maria Rincon soprano
Laurence Cummings harpsichord

Handel    
Overture to Giulio Cesare HWV 17
Aure soavi, e lieti HWV 84
Care selve HWV 88
Suite in D minor HWV 428
Concerto in G HWV 487
Suite in E minor HWV 289
Crudel tiranno Amor HWV 97b
(Solo keyboard version 
recently discovered in a Munich manuscript)

17, 18, 19 March 10am-6pm
David Josefowitz Recital Hall, Royal Academy of Music
First Round of the
Handel Singing Competition 2008

Friday 21 March  2.30pm
St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London
Bach St Matthew Passion BWV 244

Nicholas Mulroy Evangelist & tenor arias
Derek Welton Christus & bass arias
Anna Devin soprano
Christopher Ainslie alto
Laurence Cummings conductor
London Handel Orchestra
Adrian Butterfield leader
St George's Choir

This performance was sung in German in the context of Vespers.
Supported by St George’s Hanover Square

Tuesday 25 March 6pm (please note time)
St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London
Handel Singing Competition Semi-Final
Ian Partridge Chairman of Adjudicators

Monday 31 March 7pm
Middle Temple Hall, London
Handel Aci, Galatea & Polifemo HWV 72

Gilliam Ramm soprano
Clare Wilkinson mezzo-soprano
Lukas Jakobski bass
Laurence Cummings conductor
London Handel Orchestra
Adrian Butterfield leader
Daniele Guerra director
Charles Edwards set & lighting designer

Semi-staged production

Handel’s extended cantata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo was written in Naples in 1708, ten years before his English version of the same story. The reactions of the lovers Acis and Galatea as they defy the jealous anger of the giant Polyphemus are depicted in a sequence of passionate arias leading to the intense pathos of the tragic climax, mitigated by Galatea’s exertion of her divine powers.

Supported by the TL Trust

Thursday 3 April 7pm
St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London
Handel Singing Competition Final          
Laurence Cummings director
Members of the London Handel Orchestra will accompany the finalists

Adjudicators: Ian Partridge (Chairman), John Mark Ainsley, Catherine Denley, Michael Chance, & Gillian Fisher

7th year of this unique singing Competition.

Supported by Mrs Adair, the Groner Trust & the Michael Oliver Trust

Saturday 5 April 7pm
St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London
Dixit Dominus RV 594
     
Katherine Manley soprano
Tom Raskin tenor
Adrian Butterfield director
Southbank Sinfonia Baroque   
Michael Berman conductor
of Vox Musica

Handel  Overture to Alexander’s Feast HWV 75
Mondonville  Grand Motet In Exitu Israel
Handel  Water Music, Suite no2
Campra  Suite Le Carnaval de Venise
Vivaldi  Dixit Dominus  RV 594

The early 18th Century was the very peak of Baroque music in Europe, with styles which varied greatly from country to country. In this concert, Handel is performed alongside his contemporaries in France and Italy. While Handel served George I, Mondonville and Campra composed for the magnificent court of Louis XIV, and Vivaldi in Venice composed for royalty and nobility across Europe.

Thursday 10 April 7pm
St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London
Handel La Resurrezione (1708) HWV 47
Royal College of Music Baroque         
Adrian Butterfield director
Angelo (An Angel) Lorna Bridge
Lucifero (Lucifer) Lukas Jacobski
S Maria Maddalena (Mary Magdalene)  
Sarah-Jane Brandon
S Maria Cleofe (Mary Cleophas) Diana Daniel
S Giovanni Evangelista (St John the Evangelist) 
Tyler Clarke

La Resurrezione, Handel’s first specifically Christian oratorio, was composed in Rome for the Easter celebrations of 1708, and is one of the most brilliant works of his Italian period, notable for its colourful instrumentation as well as its demanding vocal writing. The anxiety of Mary Magdalene, Mary Cleophas and John turns to joy as they learn of the Resurrection, while fiery exchanges between an Angel and Lucifer reveal the momentous significance of the event.

Friday 11 April 7.30pm (please note time)
Wigmore Hall, London
Handel at Home
London Handel Players    
Rachel Brown flute
Adrian Butterfield violin
Oliver Webber violin
Peter Collyer viola
Katherine Sharman violoncello
Laurence Cummings harpsichord       

Handel
Flute Concerto in G minor HWV 287
Violin Sonata in D major HWV 371
'Un Momento' from Alcina HWV 34 arr. Walsh
Trio Sonata Op 5 no 4 in G HWV 399
Overture and 'What tho’' from Solomon HWV 67 arr. Walsh/Brown
Trio Sonata Op 2 no 3 in Bb major HWV 388
'Myself I shall adore' and 'No, no, I’ll take no less' from Semele HWV 58 arr. Walsh/Brown

Handel at Home, an intimate chamber programme exploring Handel's solo and trio sonatas and the sumptuous arrangements of arias from some of Handel's most famous operas and oratorios, made for enjoyment at home before the era of recording.

21, 23, 24 April  7pm
Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music
Handel Atalanta HWV 35
Fully staged opera produced in collaboration with the Benjamin Britten International Opera School, Royal College of Music, London 
Laurence Cummings conductor
Christopher Cowell director
London Handel Orchestra
Adrian Butterfield leader
Bridget Kimak designer
Ciaran Bagnall lighting designer

Cast:
Atalanta Ruby Hughes
Meleagro Madeleine Pierard
Irene Stephanie Lewis
Aminta Tyler Clarke
Nicandro Philip Tebb
Mercurio Vojtech Šafarík

Handel composed Atalanta in 1736 to celebrate the wedding of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Coburg. The princess Atalanta has fled court life to devote herself to hunting, but King Meleager, disguised as a shepherd, pursues her and eventually wins her heart after misunderstandings involving a more lowly couple, the swain Amyntas and the teasing maid Irene. In a spectacular finale, a messenger of the gods blesses the marriage of the royal pair.

Sung in Italian with surtitles

Supported by the Royal College of Music & Handel Supporters

Talk on Atalanta by David Vickers
Monday 21 April 5.15-6.15pm
Lecture Theatre 1 in Blackett Laboratory , Imperial College
(not the Skempton Lecture Theatre as shown on the tickets)

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