The musique more full than it was

Arcangelo, an ensemble committed to deep listening skills and the artistry of chamber music-making, is celebrated for its collective energy and spirit.

Sacred vocal music from the Restoration era of Charles II illustrates the continuous line of beauty English composers threaded through the turbulent years of civil war and social upheaval. Emotionally charged anthems by Pelham Humfrey, Maurice Greene and Matthew Locke seem poised between past and future. Handel's majestic setting of words from the Book of Psalms formed the soundtrack of England emerging into a new era of optimism and opportunity.

England's Chapel Royal, in the years before and after Oliver Cromwell's Republic, nurtured some of the nation's finest composers. After attending one of its services in 1662, Samuel Pepys observed 'musique more full than it was', referring to a newly energised era of composition under the restored monarchy, aided by foreign influences and new money.