For much of the 18th century, the Strand was the most vibrant of London’s thoroughfares. ‘Handel in the Strand’ captures the spirit of music-making across the city, from theatres to music shops and music in the home. In the early 1700s, London was quickly becoming the musical hub of Europe, attracting the great Handel himself, alongside a multitude of French and Italian musicians who seized the opportunity to play in London’s thriving theatre district.

Ensemble Hesperi will perform music by Handel, Purcell, Elisabetta Gambarini, Corelli, and of course, its favourite Scottish composer James Oswald, whose music shop lay moments away from the Strand.