In a concert full of majesty and vitality, the renowned singers and musicians of Armonico Consort, led by Music Director Christopher Monks, perform Handel’s Fireworks at the Collegiate Church of St Mary’s Warwick on Tuesday 6 December.
The programme features music written by Georg Frideric Handel for royal occasions during the reign of George II and contains some of his most powerful and evocative works, full of glorious brass fanfares, exciting rhythms and joyful melodies. The musicians use instruments of the period giving special insight into how the King would have heard the music.
Choral favourites, Zadok The Priest and The King Shall Rejoice, were composed for George II’s coronation and have been performed at every coronation since. The Dettingen Te Deum is one of Handel’s most splendid works, written to celebrate the King’s triumphant return from the Battle of Dettingen in 1743. The concert also includes the famous Music for the Royal Fireworks, composed in 1749 to accompany an extravagant pyrotechnic display to mark the ending of the War of Austrian succession.
Armonico Consort returns to St Mary’s Church, Warwick on Thursday 22 December for its traditional Carols By Candlelight concert. A highlight of the festive season, audiences can soak up the Christmas atmosphere and enjoy a mix of seasonal favourites, well-known carols and new discoveries. The concert is narrated by the renowned British tenor James Oxley who combines a successful solo career with his theatre work as vocal coach at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Handel’s Fireworks is at the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick on Tuesday 6 December at 7.30pm. Carols by Candlelight is at the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick on Thursday 22 December at 7.30pm. Visit www.armonico.org.uk for details.
