On May 29th 1660, King Charles II made a triumphal entry into London, watched by many who had witnessed the decapitation of his father in Whitehall 11 years previously. The Stuart monarchy was restored, and in something of a knee-jerk reaction to the puritanical and repressive Commonwealth, leisure and pleasure became the order of the day for the moneyed classes.
The Restoration was one of the most colourful periods in English history, and its often joyful and exuberant music reflects the fruitful merging of the native English style with the King's French tastes, and the remarkable skills of immigrant Italian virtuosi. Music was once again permitted in church, and in the theatre, and a newly ambitious middle-class turned to music for recreation, prompting a flood of compositions and publications.
Julian Clarkson - bass
Penelope Spencer - violin
Susanne Heinrich - viola da gambas
Lynda Sayce - theorbo and guitar
Concert Programme
Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695)
"Frost Scene" from King Arthur
Christopher Simpson (1602 - 69) - Two short pieces
Johann Schop (d. 1667) - Lachrimae Pavaen
Monsieur Gallot of Ireland (active 1670s) - Guitar Suite
Nicholas Lanier ((1588 - 1666) - 'Hero and Leander'
George Tollett (active 1680s) - Tollett's ground
Henry Purcell
-'Bacchus is a pow'r divine'
-'You twice Ten Hundred Deities'
Listening Cards
