Devon Baroque Orchestra: 'Music from the English Provinces': 2025 is the 25th Anniversary of Devon Baroque. We will be celebrating with a series of concerts of British Music at St John's Church, Totnes on Sunday 23rd February 2025

Please note: This concert is in the past and has already taken place.

Devon Baroque Orchestra: 'Music from the English Provinces'

2025 is the 25th Anniversary of Devon Baroque. We will be celebrating with a series of concerts of British Music

Add to my Calendar 23-02-2025 16:00 23-02-2025 18:00 36 Devon Baroque Orchestra: 'Music from the English Provinces' For more information about Devon Baroque, and to be added to our mailing list please visit our webiste https://www.devonbaroque.co.uk The arts in the 18th century were, apparently, London-centred. Thanks almost entirely to Handel, London became a centre for opera to rival other European cities, bringing singers and instrumentalists from abroad to work in the theatres and to seek employment in the courts of the landed gentry. But we tend to ignore what was afoot in the provinces. Handel's music provoked a growth in amateur music-making beyond London's boundaries: choral societies sprang up to offer opportunities to sing Messiah and other oratorios; music societies offered opportunities to hear and play instrumental music. From the start of the 18th century, Corelli's concerti grossi took British string-players and audiences by storm.] The next step in the evolution of orchestral music was thanks to Handel and his two sets of concerti grossi, op 3 and op 6 (published 1734 and 1739), products of a rapidly expanding market for printed orchestral music. Devon Baroque has been airing these regularly as the backbone of its recent concerts and op6 no11 in A, one of the most inventive and generous, acts as an apt backdrop to the provincial music that follows. Richard Mudge During his time as private chaplain to Lord Guernsey at Packington Hall in Warwickshire he wrote his six concertos, which show an unerring musical discipline, possibly acquired during his time at Pembroke College, Oxford. After the composition and printing of these pieces, his duties as curate in Birmingham seem to have taken over the remains of his short life; at any rate, no other music of his survives. Devon Baroque makes a rare venture into the 20th century, when its favoured music was rediscovered and distributed far further than at its time of origin. The earliest debt is owed to the Dolmetsch family at the beginning of the century but following them, influential musicians became increasingly interested in shedding light on performance in the 18th century, such as the composer Paul Hindemith. The Harpsichord Concertino of his pupil, Walter Leigh reflects this; we would have other examples from him if his life had not been violently cut short. To such pioneers we owe our current ability to understand and to play 'baroque' music. Charles Avison was born in Newcastle and after a period of training in Italy and then in London under Geminiani, returned to his home town to become organist at St John's church and director of the Newcastle Music Society. He also organised subscription concerts and taught harpsichord, flute and violin. It is an indication of the liveliness of the musical activity of the town that Avison's income was enough for him to refuse other offers of work. Like Hellendaal, Avison continued to write in the style that has its origins in Corelli at the beginning of the century, but among his maybe 80 concertos is an unusual group of twelve based on keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. Andrew will first play the two Scarlatti sonatas that Avison transcribes in the second and final movement of his concerto. Pieter Hellendaal was talented enough to be appointed organist to a prestigious church in Utrecht at the age of ten (!)  He spent  much time moving from place to place, failing to find musical surroundings that suited him. Following six years musical training in Padua and making several attempts to find adequate work in Holland, in 1752 he moved to London, becoming well-known as a violinist and publishing his op 3 set of concertos in about 1758. In 1762 he settled in Cambridge for the rest of his long life, first as organist at Pembroke College, then at Peterhouse. He was perhaps the final representative of the musical style that by then was called 'baroque' by the followers of a completely different intention, that of J C Bach, Haydn and Mozart.     St John's Church, Totnes DD/MM/YYYY

Details

St John's Church
26 Bridgetown
Totnes
Devon
TQ9 5AD
England

Sunday 23rd February 2025
4:00 PM

Programme

George Frideric Handel – Concerto Grosso in A major, Op.6 no.11 (HWV 329)
Richard Mudge – Concerto no.2 in D minor
Walter Leigh – Concertino for Keyboard and String Orchestra
~ Interval ~
Doménico Scarlatti – Keyboard Sonata in G minor, K.31
Doménico Scarlatti – Keyboard Sonata in D minor 'Pastorale', K.9
Charles Avison – Concerto no.9 in C major
Pieter Hellendaal – Concerto Grosso in D Minor, Op.3 no.2

Performers

Persephone Gibbs – baroque violin
Andrew Wilson-Dickson – harpsichord
Sharon Lindo – baroque violin

Devon Baroque Orchestra

Programme Note

For more information about Devon Baroque, and to be added to our mailing list please visit our webiste

https://www.devonbaroque.co.uk

The arts in the 18th century were, apparently, London-centred. Thanks almost entirely to Handel, London became a centre for opera to rival other European cities, bringing singers and instrumentalists from abroad to work in the theatres and to seek employment in the courts of the landed gentry. But we tend to ignore what was afoot in the provinces. Handel's music provoked a growth in amateur music-making beyond London's boundaries: choral societies sprang up to offer opportunities to sing Messiah and other oratorios; music societies offered opportunities to hear and play instrumental music.

From the start of the 18th century, Corelli's concerti grossi took British string-players and audiences by storm.] The next step in the evolution of orchestral music was thanks to Handel and his two sets of concerti grossi, op 3 and op 6 (published 1734 and 1739), products of a rapidly expanding market for printed orchestral music. Devon Baroque has been airing these regularly as the backbone of its recent concerts and op6 no11 in A, one of the most inventive and generous, acts as an apt backdrop to the provincial music that follows.

Richard Mudge During his time as private chaplain to Lord Guernsey at Packington Hall in Warwickshire he wrote his six concertos, which show an unerring musical discipline, possibly acquired during his time at Pembroke College, Oxford. After the composition and printing of these pieces, his duties as curate in Birmingham seem to have taken over the remains of his short life; at any rate, no other music of his survives.

Devon Baroque makes a rare venture into the 20th century, when its favoured music was rediscovered and distributed far further than at its time of origin. The earliest debt is owed to the Dolmetsch family at the beginning of the century but following them, influential musicians became increasingly interested in shedding light on performance in the 18th century, such as the composer Paul Hindemith. The Harpsichord Concertino of his pupil, Walter Leigh reflects this; we would have other examples from him if his life had not been violently cut short. To such pioneers we owe our current ability to understand and to play 'baroque' music.

Charles Avison was born in Newcastle and after a period of training in Italy and then in London under Geminiani, returned to his home town to become organist at St John's church and director of the Newcastle Music Society. He also organised subscription concerts and taught harpsichord, flute and violin. It is an indication of the liveliness of the musical activity of the town that Avison's income was enough for him to refuse other offers of work. Like Hellendaal, Avison continued to write in the style that has its origins in Corelli at the beginning of the century, but among his maybe 80 concertos is an unusual group of twelve based on keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. Andrew will first play the two Scarlatti sonatas that Avison transcribes in the second and final movement of his concerto.

Pieter Hellendaal was talented enough to be appointed organist to a prestigious church in Utrecht at the age of ten (!) He spent much time moving from place to place, failing to find musical surroundings that suited him. Following six years musical training in Padua and making several attempts to find adequate work in Holland, in 1752 he moved to London, becoming well-known as a violinist and publishing his op 3 set of concertos in about 1758. In 1762 he settled in Cambridge for the rest of his long life, first as organist at Pembroke College, then at Peterhouse. He was perhaps the final representative of the musical style that by then was called 'baroque' by the followers of a completely different intention, that of J C Bach, Haydn and Mozart.

Devon Baroque Orchestra: 'Music from the English Provinces'

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