Continuo Connect in October
An exciting new season, inspired new projects to look forward to and a new playlist to ease you into autumn
Dear Friends,
Judging by all the incoming announcements and new concert listings on Continuo Connect, the upcoming season looks like an exciting one. The UK Early Music scene is incredibly varied and full of imaginative ideas and inspiring talent.
This became very apparent in the applications for Continuo Foundation’s latest round of grants, which displayed an unprecedented level of creativity, knowledge and artistic quality. Twenty-five outstanding new projects have been awarded grants, so please do keep an eye on Continuo Connect, where the ensembles will be adding their concerts as dates and venues are confirmed.
For now, we hope you enjoy browsing our concert recommendations below as well as the other events on Continuo Connect. We look forward to seeing you at one of the upcoming autumn festivals or concerts around the country.
Tina & the Continuo Team
Celestial Music did the Gods Inspire 13th October, Temple Church, London
This launch event for the Hesperi Voices celebrates the ‘Battle of the Organs’ at London’s Temple Church. Ensemble Hesperi bring to life a story from 1682, when a competition was devised to choose a new organ for the church. The two leading organ builders of the day built rival instruments and hired famous organists to showcase their craftsmanship! Expect a sparkling programme of music by the winning organists, Henry Purcell and John Blow, interwoven with Charles Burney’s historical narrative of the battle itself. Find out more
Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks 18 October, Barbican, London
You can expect music of pure celebration as Laurence Cummings and the Academy of Ancient Music ignite their 50th anniversary season with Handel’s Fireworks Music and Water Music. A royal court, a floating orchestra and a pyrotechnic display so dazzling that it brought London to a standstill. In early Georgian England, George Frederic Handel was the grand master of sonic pageantry, and his Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks are the sound of revelry: as fresh, as stirring and as gloriously tuneful now as they were three centuries ago. Find out more
BREMF - New Horizons 13 - 28 October, Brighton
This year’s Brighton Early Music Festival looks to the future, with a great line-up of young and established artists presenting 500 years of music. Pre-festival events include a Playford 400 workshop and ceilidh for early & folk instrumentalists on Saturday and OAE Tots concerts on 7 October. Among the main festival’s many high profile events, the BREMF Young Artists Showcase, featuring Continuo Foundation grantee Musica d’Outrora alongside Bellot Ensemble, Portrait Players and medieval ensemble Rūn, offers a great opportunity to discover the stars of tomorrow. Find out more
Brecon Baroque Festival 20 - 23 October, Brecon
Brecon Baroque Festival in Wales offers an inspiring programme of concerts, talks and walks, in the third stage of their ‘Walk with Bach’ series, looking at JS Bach’s time as Cantor at St Thomas’ Church in Leipzig. The centrepiece of the weekend is Brecon Baroque’s performance of Chad Kelly’s Goldberg Variations Reimagined, but don’t miss Rachel Podger and Joanne Lunn on Friday and Fretwork with Ruby Hughes on Sunday. There will also be up-close ‘Lunchtime Chamber Concerts’ at the Plough Chapel and a free Festival Evensong event in Brecon Cathedral. Find out more
Check out our curated monthly Spotify playlist with a selection of recordings by ensembles with UK concerts happening in October. Have a listen — and then hear them live. You will find all their concert dates listed on www.continuoconnect.com