The Royall Consort

King Charles I was a connoisseur of the visual arts, but he had exquisite taste in music, too, and the brilliant young composer and courtier William Lawes flooded the Stuart court with some of Britain’s – and Europe’s – most innovative (and ravishing) sounds.

Today, Academy of Ancient Music celebrates an era of cavaliers and courtly dances, playing music by Lawes and his contemporaries from home and abroad. Elegant seduction, playful conversation and the looming shadow of civil war all find a voice, as the instruments of the Renaissance meet a flamboyant upstart called the violin. This is musical time travel: a whole evening in a vanished age, recreated through music. It’s witty, it’s elegant, and it touches the heart.

Programme:
William Lawes Royal Consort No.1
Samuel Scheidt Paduan Cantus IV, Galliard Battaglia & Canzon ‘Nachbar Roland’ from Ludi Musici Part 1
Thomas Baltzar Prelude from the Division Violin & ‘John come kiss me now’
Dario Castello Sonatas XIII and XIV from Sonate Concertate in Stil Moderno, Libro II
Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger Toccata 7 from Book 4 (1640)
Christopher Simpson Divisions for 2 Viols VdGS 3.28
William Lawes Royal Consort No.6
John Jenkins Newark Siege

Performers:
Academy of Ancient Music
Laurence Cummings director, harpsichord

There will be a free pre-concert talk in the auditorium at 6.30pm.