Preview of Handel's Orlando with the Liberata Collective

We're delighted to release our new promoters' brochure

In June, we had a wonderful time in Orkney, performing two lunchtime concerts at St Magnus Cathedral at the St Magnus International Festival, and appearing in studio at BBC Radio Orkney! We're delighted to receive a brilliant review from Early Music Review. Here are a few choice quotes: "Playing with consummate technical virtuosity and charming musicality, Ensemble Hesperi won the hearts of their St Magnus Cathedral audience, introducing many for the first time to the rich treasury of 18th-century Scottish music." "I was hugely impressed by the virtuosity and musicality of these accomplished young musicians, and their boundless energy, their well-researched programmes and their relaxed rapport with their audiences make me sure that they will become an established and admired ensemble in the very near future – another great ‘find’ by the St Magnus Festival!" To read the full review, head to Early Music Review here . 

We are so excited to be fundraising towards the costs of recording our second CD, A Gift for your Garden, to be released on the fantastic label BIS records , in Autumn 2024. Our debut CD recording, Full of the Highland Humours , has been highly praised and hugely popular with our audiences, and we can’t wait to share more of our music with our supporters across the world. We first performed "A Gift for your Garden" as City Music Foundation Artists in 2022 as part of their artists' concert series, and it will be a real milestone for us to record this intriguing story in musical form for posterity. A little more about the music... "A Gift for your Garden" celebrates Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) and his little-known love of plant life! Towards the end of his life, Telemann filled his Hamburg garden with exotic flowers, and often wrote to many of his musical friends abroad, asking them to send plant specimens in the post. These included George Frederick Handel (1685-1759) and Johann Gottlieb Graun (1702-1771), whose beautiful trio sonatas will feature on the disc, alongside music by Telemann himself: one of his challenging "Paris Quartets", a raucous sonata in G minor, and a haunting solo flute fantasia. Telemann declared in one letter to a friend: "I am insatiable where hyacinths and tulips are concerned, greedy for ranunculi, and especially for anemones". We are therefore delighted to be able to include in this programme three of our favourite Scottish floral airs by our favourite Scottish composer James Oswald (1710-1769): "The Hyacinth", "The Anemone" and "The Tulip". These delightful airs really capture the galant spirit of the age, and are guaranteed to transport you to Scotland itself. This music is full of charm and energy, and really conveys the chamber music spirit at the heart of everything we do at Hesperi. We believe that it deserves to be enjoyed by audiences around the world. How can you help? We need your help to bring our project life! We have many costs to cover, including the services of our brilliant sound engineer, Oscar Torres , our harpsichord tuner, venue hire for rehearsals and the recording itself, travel, accommodation, and much, much more... We would be delighted if you can contribute to our campaign , no matter how little! Thank-you so much - and do share with your friends if you can. Mary-Jannet, Magda, Florence and Thomas :) 

We are delighted to share with you our concert film of "Celestial Music did the Gods Inspire", which has been produced by our wonderful videographer Tom Mungall . This project, generously supported by the Continuo Foundation , was filmed in October at Temple Church, London, and features for the first time our new vocal group, the Hesperi Voices. We hope you enjoy it! The programme for "Celestial Music did the Music Inspire" celebrates the historic 'Organ Battle' at the Temple Church in the 1680s. Following the refurbishment of the church by Christopher Wren, a dispute arose as to which of two leading organ builders of the day, Bernhard Smith and Renatus Harris, should furnish the church with a new instrument. The Benchers of Middle Temple had a strong preference for Smith’s organ, but those of Inner Temple favoured the challenger, Harris. In a matter of months, the two men erected two organs at opposite ends of the church, and vied with each other, showcasing their instruments on alternate Sundays. Each organ maker invited the most celebrated players of the day to showcase their craftsmanship, who astonished the crowds gathered for the ‘trials’ with their virtuosic performances. As the societies of the Inner and Middle Temples struggled to choose a winner, a fierce rivalry developed, and each builder strived to outdo the other, rumours of sabotage never far away. Finally, Smith’s organ triumphed, preferred for its volume and tonal qualities. Our programme features music by the two organists who demonstrated Smith’s winning instrument, John Blow and his student Henry Purcell. The two men were leading musicians in late seventeenth-century London, particularly in the realm of church music. Sadly, Blow’s illustrious career is largely forgotten today, but he, together with Purcell, monopolised the high offices at the choral establishments of the Chapel Royal, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey during his lifetime. Click here to download the programme , which contains full programme notes and a list of performers and sponsors. 

Our programme at Temple Music Foundation on Friday 13th October, generously supported by the Continuo Foundation , celebrates an organ battle! The famous Temple Church, refurbished in 1682 under the direction of none other than Christopher Wren, decided to purchase a brand new organ, but the Societies of the Inner and Middle Temple disagreed upon which maker should build it, and the issue was not resolved for several years! Eighteenth-century music historians Charles Burney and John Hawkins both wrote about this "battle" between two of the foremost organ builders of their age, Renatus Harris and Bernhard Smith, and the lengths to which they (and their supporters!) went to win the contract once and for all. For a long time, two organs stood in the Temple Church, and were demonstrated by virtuoso organists of the day. The two players demonstrating the winning instrument (spoiler-alert, it was Smith) were none other than Henry Purcell and his teacher John Blow, and it's their music we'll be performing in the very church where they showed off their skills over 300 years ago! Ahead of "Celestial Music did the Gods Inspire", our harpsichord Thomas Allery and our recorder player Mary-Jannet Leith chat about the the launch of the Hesperi Voices, the spirit of chamber music, and more! Book your tickets here.

In November, we're looking forward to performing at the Torbay Music Weekend, which has been running over 50 years: "a weekend away from home before the pre-Christmas rush, listening to music in comfortable surroundings amongst congenial companions who share your interests and tastes." You can listen and talk to a wide variety of people from the world of music, such as critics, performers, composers, broadcasters, presenters and writers. We'll be presenting our programme, "Handel on the Strand", and also giving a short talk and demonstration about the Outreach work we have done over the years. The weekend is held at the Grand Hotel, Torquay, on the sea-front; we can't wait to share our music on the English Riviera! For more information, and to book a place on this fantastic weekend, head to their website .

This summer has seen us perform 4 sell-out performances of Handel's little-known opera Orlando with the Liberata Collective , who specialise in staging historical opera through Baroque Gesture. It's a crazy plot, with the hero, the knight Orlando, caught in a love triangle which leads him to kill two other characters, and nearly a third! Fortunately, the magician Zoroastro (pictured below working his magic) is able to bring everyone back to life at the end and restore Orlando's glory... We were delighted to work with an expanded ensemble for this project, welcoming Francesca Gilbert on viola and Oonagh Lee on oboe, and to collaborate with Musical Director Adrian Butterfield. The score for Orlando is a challenging one, and we were performing with a reduced instrumentation to Handel's original: Here are a few choice snippets from the reviews: Here of course, with the use of period instruments, the emphasis was on the quality of the music of Orlando and its ability to carry the dramatic intent of the opera. And being Handel of course, it's absolutely beautiful. With the small ensemble to the right of the stage, it was more than enough to spring this work into life. Opera Journal The seven instrumentalists of Ensemble Hesperi brought impressive colour to a reduced orchestration. BachTrack The singing of all five performers was excellent, as was the music. This production by Liberata Collective with Ensemble Hesperi was probably as near as can now be seen to the opera in Handel's time. Buxton Advertiser

We're so proud of our harpsichordist (also organist!) Thomas Allery who has worked extremely hard with Tom Mungall to produce a musically and visually brilliant documentary film, celebrating the musical past of the City of London through the music wonderful (and mainly forgotten!) composers on the fantastic organ at St Mary-Le-Bow Church. "Sounds of the Square Mile", supported by the Eric Cross Trust, is now available to watch on YouTube here.

On 14th June, we're delighted to be performing at the Great Hall, Barts Heritage, with our fellow City Music Foundation artists in "900 Years of Music and Medicine", a cabaret-style gala entertainment exploring a miscellany of connections between medical practice, doctors and music. The programme will also include three new commissions specially for this event, which celebrates 900 years since the founding of Barts Hospital. The evening, which will raise funds for City Music Foundation and Barts Heritage, will portray doctors both real and fictional and tell medical anecdotes through history with both gravity and humour. This musical anthology will be woven together by CMF Patron and actor Simon Callow into a unique narrative.