Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra: Great Baroque Playing with Fire
Rebel Chaos from Les Eléméns
Bach Brandenburg Concerto no.2 in F major for trumpet, flute, oboe and violin BWV 1047
Purcell ‘Dido’s Lament’ from Dido and Aeneas
Handel ‘Piangèro’ and ‘Da Tempeste’ from Giulio Cesare HWV 17
Vivaldi Winter from The Seasons RV 297
Vivaldi Concerto La Tempesta di Mare in F major for flute, oboe, bassoon and strings RV 570
Handel ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ from Samson HWV 57
Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks HWV 351
Robert Howarth conductor/harpsichord
Gillian Keith soprano
Ruth Rogers leader
This feast of Baroque music celebrating the elements – earth, fire, air and water – is directed from the harpsichord by Robert Howarth, who conducts regularly at Opernhaus Zürich, Opera North, and The Academy of Ancient Music.
Exhilarating concertos – Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no.2, featuring the piccolo trumpet, and Vivaldi’s Winter for violin – balance Handel’s colourful Music for the Royal Fireworks and François Rebel’s shocking Les Eléméns, whose movements – Le Cahos, L’Eau, L’Air, La Terre, La Feu – signify some of the most shocking Baroque music ever written.
Robert Howarth and the BPO are joined by the superb Canadian soprano Gillian Keith, whose performances at the Royal Opera House, BBC Proms, Boston Early Music Festival and Netherlands Opera draw the highest accolades. Her ‘elemental’ arias include Purcell’s Dido’s Lament, Handel’s Da Tempeste, and the irrepressibly joyful Let the Bright Seraphim. Ruth Rogers leads a virtuoso ensemble of players in this exciting programme.
