Bath Recitals now on YouTube

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new YouTube channel where you can watch the recent performance of Handel’s Solomon…

This amazing performance in Bath Abbey on Saturday 22nd April was the first professional performance of ‘Solomon’ in Bath since Handel’s day. This Coronation Concert for the City of Bath also marked the anointing of King Charles III on the site where the first King of all England, King Edgar was crowned in 973. 

The Georgian Festival Chorale and St Woolos Sinfonia performed one of Handel’s greatest oratorios under the baton of Daniel Robert Cushing (pictured above).

Coming up…

The Georgian Festival Chorale & Orchestra are back this summer to capture the spirit of the Georgian age with an 18th century gala concert of music by some of the great composers of the period. Music by William Boyce, Henry Purcell, JS Bach and Wolfgang Mozart will feature with soprano Eleonore Sian Cockerham, mezzo-soprano Molly Soo and baritone Matthew Tilley.

Georgian Gala

Saturday 26 August, 7.30pm
St Michael’s Without, Broad Street, Bath BA1 5LJ

Tickets Adults £22-£27; under 18s & students £14-20
Doors open at 6:45pm. Pre-concert and interval drinks available.

Georgian Gala

Join us for this fantastic programme which captures the essence of the ‘Georgian Baroque’…

William Boyce Overture in A
Johann Sebastian Bach Cantata Widerstehe doch der Sunde BMV 54
William Boyce Symphony No. 1 in Bb
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Exultate Jubilate K165
George Frederick Handel Birthday Ode to Queen Anne (1713) and Eternal Source of Light Divine
Henry Purcell Birthday Ode to Queen Mary (1694) Come ye Sons of Art Away

Sponsored by the Friends of Bath Recitals

See Solomon for just £15

The race is on to get the best seats for Solomon on 22 April in Bath Abbey…

Bath Abbey ceiling

Tickets from £15 to £35

Many of the best seats have been snapped up – but more are available from as little as £15* for this rare performance of one of Handel’s greatest oratorios. 

*newly released full price tickets

This is probably the city’s first professional performance of Handel’s Solomon since the 18th century. When Handel turned his hand away from Italian opera to English Oratorio it was an overnight success.

Handel

Don’t miss…

  • The amazing story of Solomon the King
  • Over 60 professional performers
  • The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba!
  • The St Woolos Sinfonia with the Georgian Festival Chorale
  • Star soloist countertenor Neil Moore
  • Star soloist soprano Emilie Parry-Williams

Handel’s Solomon

Saturday 22 April, 7.30pm
Bath Abbey, Bath BA1 1LT

Tickets Adults £15* to £35; under 18s & students £15 to £20
Doors open at 6:45pm. Pre-concert and interval drinks available.

*newly released full price tickets

The Judgement of Solomon

Meet the musicians performing Handel’s Solomon

Our much anticipated concert in Bath Abbey on 22 April will feature some of the finest musicians in the country. Discover more about the soloists and the orchestra performing Handel’s Solomon…

Founded in 2008, the St Woolos Sinfonia comprises professional players drawn mostly from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera. 

Performed by over 60 musicians in the glorious setting of Bath Abbey, Handel’s Solomon will be conducted by Daniel Robert Cushing.

In addition to the orchestra the Georgian Festival Chorale will sing the choruses with key soloists taking the role of the characters in the story of Solomon The King.

The role of Solomon himself will be taken by countertenor, Neil Moore. Neil studied music in Glasgow where he sang at both St. Mary’s Cathedral Glasgow and Edinburgh. After touring the USA he joined Hereford Cathedral Choir giving performances for the then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

Neil has appeared at the Three Choirs Festival, broadcast BBC Radio 3 and Television and features on several recordings. 

Soprano Emilie Parry-Williams will take the joint roles of Pharaoh’s Daughter and Nicaule, Queen of Sheba. Emilie is based in South Wales with a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She has also studied at the European Opera Academy with Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini, Florence, and Glyndebourne Academy. 

Recent performances include the Common Wealth theatre company, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, productions supported by the Arts Council of Wales and notable performances on ITV’s ‘The Voice UK.’

Tickets are now on sale from Bath Box Office so don’t miss this incredible opportunity to experience what is probably Bath’s only professional performance of this great oratorio since the 18th century.

You can also buy your tickets by calling Bath Box Office on 01225 463362 (10am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, closed Bank Holidays)

The Judgement of Solomon

Handel’s Solomon opens 2023 Season

Bath Recitals is thrilled to announce the opening concert in Bath Abbey of its 2023 Season with a semi-staged performance of Handel’s great oratorio: Solomon on 22 April…

This is probably the first professional performance of Solomon in Bath since the eighteenth century. The Georgian Festival Chorale and St. Woolos Sinfonia will present this atmospheric performance directed by Daniel Robert Cushing. It will also feature countertenor Neil Moore as Solomon and soprano Emilie Parry-Williams as both Solomon’s Queen and The Queen of Sheba.

Handel

Famed for his Italian operas, Handel virtually abandoned this genre after 1741. Instead he focused on oratorios in English of which Solomon was the first. It was a huge success and set the scene for a string of oratorio masterpieces.

Central to the work is the famous biblical story of The Judgement of Solomon in which two harlots each claim a single baby as their own. Particularly memorable is the opening to Act III with The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.

Also coming up in 2023

The splendour of some of the finest music from the Baroque and Classical ages will be captured in a season of four concerts across 2023. Here’s what Bath Recitals have in store…

Georgian Gala

Georgian Gala

26 August 2023
The Georgian Festival Chorale & Orchestra

The spirit of the Georgian age returns to Bath with this 18th century gala concert of music by some of the great composers of the period…

Classical Greats

Classical Greats

21 October 2023
Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra
Ignas Maknickas piano

This autumn concert features one of Mozart’s most enchanting Piano Concertos and Haydn’s sixth symphony Le Matin…

Carolean Christmas

Carolean Christmas

20 December 2023
The Carolean Consort and Soloists

This Christmas themed concert will include some beautiful, seasonal Baroque music from 17th century Germany…

Christmas Music by Candlelight

Join us for this memorable concert of seasonal music with The Carolean Consort on Wednesday 21 December. 

The Carolean Consort is a West Country ensemble of professional young musicians who have acquired national and international reputations in the field of baroque music.

Making their debut with Bath Recitals they will present a Christmas concert with music from Baroque masters including excerpts from Handel’s Messiah.

Some terrific instrumental sonatas by Baroque masters Telemann and Vivaldi will also feature in this varied and colourful programme:

Also included will be a sparkling harpsichord concerto by Thomas Chilcot, organist at Bath Abbey in fashionable 18th century Bath and where he played a highly influential role in the city for forty years.

Some lovely 20th century carols will also be performed by composers Peter Warlock, Michael Head and Bath Recitals’ President, Tom Clarke.

Don’t miss this unusual, candlelit Christmas concert in the stunning setting of St Michael’s Church in the centre of the city.

Tickets are available online or in person from the cafe at St Michael’s Church during opening hours.

The Carolean Consort

Wednesday 21 December, 7:30pm
St Michael’s Church, Broad Street, Bath, BA1 5LJ 

Handel: Recorder Sonata in F
Handel: Excerpts from Messiah
              Rejoice Greatly
              I know my Redeemer liveth
              Let the bright Seraphim
Telemann: Sonata for cello
Vivaldi: Sonata in G
Carols:
          Peter Warlock: Bethlehem Down
          Michael Head: Little Road to Bethlehem
          Tom Clarke: Lullaby at Christmas
Trad: Two Polish Carols
Chilcott: Harpsichord Concerto in F

Why is the Piano Trio so popular?

We are so excited to be welcoming BBC New Generations Artists, the Mithras Trio to Bath on 15 October. 

The Piano Trio ranks as one of the most popular and successful chamber music groups of all times.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

But what makes this combination of instruments so special?

Mozart is generally credited with seizing the opportunities presented by the newly invented piano with the addition of violin and cello to make a perfectly balanced combination of instruments

And yet it is inherently NOT balanced. The piano, for example, can be far more powerful than the other two instruments, It can play lots of notes at the same time, has a huge dynamic range and can effortlessly play notes higher than the violin and lower than the cello. 

But that is part of its beauty and attraction. Collectively the piano trio has an enormous musical range with a huge variety of colour and texture which composers down through the centuries have explored and exploited with great ingenuity and some amazing results. 

Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich each explored the potential of the Piano trio in their own way. The former creating a masterpiece of melody and melancholy, the second mixing the Romantic spirit with more chromatic moments to form a more expressionistic outcome.

Mithras Trio

The Mithras Trio have been praised for their ‘exquisite phrasing’, ‘full-blooded commitment’ and ‘bold, passionate colours’.

In this fascinating and varied programme The Mithras Trio will take us on a journey through the centuries with this most engaging of instrumental ensembles. 

The Mithras Trio

Saturday 15 October, 7:30pm
St Michael’s Church, Broad Street, Bath, BA1 5LJ 
 

Mozart: Piano Trio in G Major, K. 564
Shostakovich: Piano Trio in G Major, K. 564
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in G Major, K. 564

BBC New Generation Artists heading to Bath

Bath Recitals welcomes the prestigious Mithras Trio to Bath on 15 October for a fabulous concert of music by Mozart, Shostakovitch and Tchaikovsky…

The Mithras Trio are currently members of the BBC New Generation Artists scheme – in fact the only ensemble in this highly regarded scheme. They can often be heard performing on BBC Radio 3 and are building an international reputation for their exquisite playing.

Their appearance in Bath is part of a whistle-stop tour across the length and breadth of the UK and has been made possible with the help of The Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

The Mithras Trio have been praised for their ‘exquisite phrasing’, ‘full-blooded commitment’ and ‘bold, passionate colours’.

Their programme brings music by three of the greatest composers to have written for the Piano Trio:

In the 18th century, Mozart is generally credited with transforming the line up of violin, cello and piano into the balanced piano trio which has become a central form in classical chamber music. 


Around one hundred years later, Tchaikovsky wrote his only piano trio – ‘in memory of a great artist’ (Nikolay Rubinstein), and it is a masterpiece of melody and melancholy.


By contrast, Shostakovich’s youthful piano trio mixes the Romantic spirit with more chromatic moments recalling a more impressionistic style – yet all hinting at his greatness yet to come.


The Mithras Trio

Saturday 15 October, 7:30pm
St Michael’s Church, Broad Street, Bath, BA1 5LJ 

Mozart: Piano Trio in G Major, K. 564
Shostakovich: Piano Trio in G Major, K. 564
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in G Major, K. 564

Bath Recitals is grateful for the support from The Countess of Munster Musical Trust for this event. 

Who ‘stole’ Handel’s music?

Convivio concert of baroque music on 27 August includes music which was ‘stolen’ from one of Handel’s operas. But why was Handel flattered that his music should be reused?

The Alchemist is a comedy by the English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by The King’s Men, it is generally considered Jonson’s best and most characteristic comedy. Pictured above: David Garrick as Abel Drugger in Jonson’s The Alchemist by Johann Zoffany c. 1770

One hundred years later, The Alchemist was revived for a production at the Queen’s Theatre, London. It opened on 14 January 1710 with new incidental music by George Frederick Handel. Much of the music was taken from the extended overture to Handel’s first Italian opera Rodrigo.

However, it was not Handel who created this incidental music – as it was created by an anonymous composer instead! This music was published a few months after the first performance and it is unlikely that Handel received any payment for either the performance or publication of his music. That said, it is likely that it helped raise the awareness of this Hanoverian composer who had just been introduced to London society.

It was quite common in the baroque period for music by other composers to be ‘borrowed’ in some way. Indeed, many composers were flattered that their music had been noticed and reused in this way – a far cry from todays litigious approach to copyright!

A scene from a recent Los Angeles theatre production of The Alchemist. Apart from the works of Shakespeare, is one of the few Renaissance plays which is still produced regularly on stage today.

Hear Handel’s music from The Alchemist alongside a programme of wonderful Concertos and Sinfonias by Handel’s contemporaries, Vivaldi, Telemann, Hasse and Fasch performed by the dazzling 8-piece Conviovio Ensemble on 27 August.

CONVIVIO
The Alchemist: Music by Handel and his contemporaries

Saturday 27 August, 7:30pm
St Michael’s Church, Broad Street, Bath, BA1 5LJ

Handel: The Alchemist Suite
Fasch: Sonata in F Minor
Hasse: Oboe Concerto in F Major
Handel: Sinfonia in B flat
Vivaldi: Sinfonia in G
Telemann: Concerto for 2 oboes, bassoon and strings in D Minor

The Alchemist

The Best of Baroque

What is it about Baroque music that is so appealing? We take a closer look in advance of Convivio’s dazzling programme in Bath on 27 August with The Alchemist: Music by Handel and his contemporaries…

Someone once described Baroque music as beautiful mathematics. Several others have used words such as complex, contrapuntal anddeep. Others identify with the emotional capacity of Baroque music, using words such as soothing, inspiring, uplifting and relaxing. Some simply use the word energizing.

“Generally speaking the Baroque period is when the orchestra was born, opera kicked off in a big way and the concerto gave soloists the chance to properly show off.

Classic FM

Returning after last year’s sell-out concert, the eight-piece Convivio ensemble consists of some of the UK’s top young period instrument players programming some of the very best Baroque music in their 27 August concert.

Featuring music by one of the most important and long-lived of the Baroque composers. George Frederic Handel, this concert will also include music by some of his contemporaries including Vivaldi, Telemann, Hasse and Fasch.

“From the early 1600s to the mid 1700s the Baroque sound remained distinct – ordered, ornate and increasingly emotive as the period went on.”

Classic FM

The term ‘Baroque’ is a French word. It is a translation of the Portuguese word for ‘broken’ or ‘mis-shapen’ pearl which is ”barrocco’. 

Some interpret the French word as meaning irregularly shaped or flawed. 

CONVIVIO
The Alchemist:
Music by Handel and his contemporaries

Saturday 27 August, 7:30pm
St Michael’s Church, Broad Street, Bath, BA1 5LJ

Handel: The Alchemist Suite
Fasch: Sonata in F Minor
Hasse: Oboe Concerto in F Major
Handel: Sinfonia in B flat
Vivaldi: Sinfonia in G
Telemann: Concerto for 2 oboes, bassoon and strings in D Minor

The Alchemist

A Summer evening of Baroque music

Some of the finest music from the Baroque age will be performed live in Bath on 27 August when the dynamic and exciting young ensemble Convivio return to the city.

Convivio is an eight piece ensemble made up of some of the UK’s leading young period instrument players – here is a taste of them performing at the sell-out Bath Recitals concert last August:

In addition to performing in Bath, Convivio’s masterful and acclaimed performances have been enjoyed in venues ranging from the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace to mission churches in the Bolivian jungle!

In the concert on Saturday 27 August at St Michael’s Without, Convivio will perform music by Handel’s contemporaries including VivaldiTelemannHasse and Fasch.

The concert will feature The Alchemist, the first of Handel’s works to be performed in England: it was turned into incidental music for Ben Jonson’s Alchemist in 1710.

First time in the beautiful St Michael’s Without at a fabulous concert by the baroque ensemble Convivio. So good to see a sell out audience for this wonderful event.

Audience member, Convivio concert, August 2021

CONVIVIO
The Alchemist:
Music by Handel and his contemporaries
 

Saturday 27 August, 7:30pm
St Michael’s Church, Broad Street, Bath, BA1 5LJ

Convivio

Handel: The Alchemist Suite
Fasch: Sonata in F Minor
Hasse: Oboe Concerto in F Major
Handel: Sinfonia in B flat
Vivaldi: Sinfonia in G
Telemann: Concerto for 2 oboes, bassoon and strings in D Minor