2023 LONDON FESTIVAL OF BAROQUE MUSIC To Kick Off This May

Drawing from the title Kaleidoscope, the 2023 London Festival of Baroque Music (LFBM), explores the beauty of the baroque in all shapes and sizes, featuring artistic talent from Spain, France and the UK.

Taking place at St John's Smith Square from Friday 12th to Saturday 20th May 2023, the Festival will be a week of mesmerising baroque colour, largely performed in the round. The Festival includes everything from Baroque Cabaret to intimate solo performances, a harpsichord masterclass with Steven Devine to the contrasting programming of Le Concert de L'Hostel Dieu and the timbres of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Highlights from Spain are presented under the programme "Beyond the Spanish Golden Age" by Instituto Cervantes Spanish National Centre for the Promotion of Music (CNDM), INAEM, Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain, Spanish Embassy London and funding from the European Union - Next Generation.eu. The Festival begins with La Grande Chapelle, a vocal and instrumental group with a focus on European Early music, whose principal objective is to revive the great Spanish vocal works. This is followed by a concert from Concerto 1700; founded in 2015 by the charismatic violinist Daniel Piteño, Concerto 1700 was created with the intention of interpreting works ranging from the earliest years of the Baroque to the first glimpses of Romanticism in a historically informed manner. José Miguel Moreno, on Vihuela and Baroque Guitar, will present a programme of Spanish Guitar between 1500 and 1700. Moreno specialises in historical music interpretation, with a wide repertoire of pieces from the sixteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. Today, José Miguel Moreno is known as one of the greatest specialists in his field. Later in the Festival, L'Apotheose will offer a sample of both the sacred and secular music that filled the salons and ballrooms of Madrid´s Royal Court between 1720 and 1750, and Raquel Andueza and La Galanía spotlight several reconstructions of lost or forgotten typical Spanish dances and their melodies.

Exclusively for the Festival, St Johns Smith Square will host a Baroque Cabaret. The cabaret will be an exciting opportunity to hear Southbank Sinfonia chamber groups, coached by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in a cabaret setting, with cheese and wine served at your table for the perfect night out.

The Festival continues with internationally renowned French-British ensemble Le Concert De L'Hostel Dieu who characterise themselves as half baroque, half contemporary. The concert fuses Baroque and Contemporary sound worlds, showcasing the freedom of Baroque music and the rich sounds of its instruments. Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will take audiences on a musical journey through the shapes, colours, and timbres of favourite Baroque composers; delighting them with Baroque music performed by one of the top period instrument orchestras in the world. Dr John Scott Whiteley will present the organ works of J.S. Bach and his associates for a very special Lunchtime Concert.

The Festival will close with a series of Meet the Harpsichord sessions with English conductor and historical keyboard specialist, Steven Devine. On the Saturday morning, Devine will lead an open harpsichord masterclass with students from the UK's leading conservatoires, followed by a dynamic lunchtime programme showcasing the versatility of the instrument and an enchanting opportunity to come and play the Harpsichord. With a range of historical keyboards to try, this session is the perfect chance to expand your musical knowledge.

Across ten days, this exciting Festival promises to be a rare chance to be immersed in new and familiar Baroque music.

London Festival of Baroque Music 2023: Kaleidoscope

Dates Friday 12th - Saturday 20th May 2023

Venue St John's Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA

Tickets From £10 (Young Friends tickets available for £5), online or by calling 020 7222 1061.

La Grande Chapelle

La Grande Chapelle is an early music vocal and instrumental ensemble whose main objective is to make a new interpretation of the great Spanish vocal works of the 16th to 18th centuries, with a special predilection for the polychoral production of the Baroque, and to contribute to the recovery of the Hispanic musical repertoire. For the first concert of the 39th London Festival of Baroque Music they will be performing a wonderful repertoire in the round.

Date Friday 12th May

Time 7.00pm

Duration 75 minutes

Admission £25, Gallery £15

Concerto 1700

This programme, performed in the round, brings together chamber music composed both for the court of a music lover king and for a civil society eager for science and culture, shows a Spain connected to the most innovative musical currents of the time.

Date Saturday 13th May

Time 6.30pm

Duration 80 minutes

Admission £20, Gallery £15

L'Apotheose

Performed in the round, this concert offers a sample of the sacred and profane music that sounded in the Madrid court between 1720 and 1750. The composers of this programme worked for the Royal Chapel. It was common for musicians at the service of the King to compose for religious offices and theatres, such as the "Coliseo del Buen Retiro" or the public theatres.

Date Saturday 13th May

Time 8.45pm

Admission £18, Gallery £15

José Miguel Moreno

José Miguel Moreno was born in Madrid and began his musical studies with his father. During his training period, he won, among others, first prize at the Incontri Chitarristici di Gargnano (Italy, 1977). He has specialized in historical performance and has a very wide repertoire (from the 16th century to the early 20th century), which he plays on period instruments: vihuela, Renaissance and Baroque guitar, Renaissance and Baroque lute, theorbo and classical-romantic guitar, all of them originals or reliable copies. In this field, José Miguel Moreno is unanimously recognized as one of today's leading specialists.

Date Sunday 14th May

Time 3.00pm

Duration 75 minutes

Admission £10

Raquel Andueza & La Galania

Performed in the round, Raquel Andueza & La Galania present a programme not only of secular Spanish music, but also a sample of scores that contain songs with text in Spanish, found in European collections. Music where passion, jealousy, love, sweetness, restlessness, expectation, sadness, reproach and even death for love intertwine and merge in a perfect baroque chiaroscuro.

Date Sunday 14th May

Time 7.00pm

Admission £18, Gallery £15

Le Concert De L'Hostel Dieu

Half baroque, half contemporary; half French, half British. Showcasing the freedom of Baroque music and the rich sounds of its instruments, internationally renowned ensemble, Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu, takes to St John's Smith Square in a concert that fuses Baroque and Contemporary sound worlds.

Date Monday 15th May

Time 7.00pm

Admission £25, Gallery £15

Dr John Scott Whiteley on the organ

Dr John Scott Whiteley presents J.S. Bach's organ works in E minor: a Passion Chorale setting, Sonata IV, Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 682 and the 'Wedge' Prelude and fugue. He finishes his Lunchtime Concert, as part of the London Festival of Baroque Music, with Toccatas and fugues in D minor Bach's associates, J R Ahle, Buxtehude and Walther.

Date Thursday 18th May

Time 1.05pm

Duration 55 minutes

Admission £10

Southbank Sinfonia and Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment

Hear Southbank Sinfonia chamber groups, coached by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, in an evening of captivating Baroque Cabaret. With cheese and wine served at your table, it is the perfect night out!

Date Thursday 18th May

Time 7.00pm

Admission £28, Gallery £15 (no wine and cheese included)

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Join the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on a musical journey through the shapes, colours, and timbres of favorite Baroque composers. J.S. Bach's opening sonata is pure charm and elegance - the perfect start to a tour de force concert. And what better way to listen to Baroque music than to hear it performed by one of the top period instrument orchestras in the world?

Date Friday 19th May

Time 7.00pm

Admission £35, £25, £18

Meet The Harpsichord with Steven Devine - Harpsichord: Young Professionals Masterclass

English conductor and historical keyboard specialist, Steven Devine, leads an open harpsichord masterclass with students from the UK's leading conservatoires.

Date Saturday 20th May

Time 10.00am

Admission £10

Meet The Harpsichord with Steven Devine - Lunchtime Concert

From J.S. Bach's quasi-improvisatory flowing sequence of melodies to Louis Andriessen's thrilling contemporary work, join English conductor and historical keyboard specialist, Steven Devine, in a dynamic programme showcasing the versatility of the harpsichord. Delve into glowing melodies, riveting harmonies, and spirited phrases.

Date Saturday 20th May

Time 1.05pm

Admission £10

Meet The Harpsichord with Steven Devine - Come and Play

Ever wondered what it's like to play the harpsichord? Come and try it for yourself! With a range of historical keyboards to try, this session is the perfect chance to expand your musical knowledge. No prior musical experience required.

Date Saturday 20th May

Time 3.00pm

Admission £10

Southbank Sinfonia at St John's Smith Square is the coming together of two much-loved and well-respected musical charities: the orchestra 'Southbank Sinfonia' and the venue 'St John's Smith Square'.

A masterpiece of English Baroque architecture, St John's Smith Square was designed and built by Thomas Archer between 1713 and 1728 and has survived fire, lightning, bomb plots and the Blitz. The beauty of the building is matched by an exceptional acoustic and from its restoration in the late 1960s, St John's has served as a concert venue hosting public and private performances, rehearsals and recording sessions, filming, workshops, and private events. Our in-house catering operation, the Footstool Café-bar, is located in the crypt and operates a daytime café service and an evening bar for concerts and events. Since April 2021, St John's Smith Square has proudly been the home of the Southbank Sinfonia fellowship.

Each year Southbank Sinfonia welcomes 33 of the world's most promising emerging musicians to embark upon its renowned fellowship, providing a much-needed springboard into the profession. More than just an orchestra, it is a community where young talents find their own creative strengths, fulfil personal goals, make lasting contacts, and take their musicianship to new frontiers. Through unparalleled opportunities to gain crucial experience in orchestral repertoire, chamber music, opera, dance and theatre, Southbank Sinfonia musicians leave the programme prepared for life as freelance musicians, with a uniquely important voice in the sector that can shape the future of their art form.

Together, Southbank Sinfonia at St John's Smith Square acts as a beacon for the future of classical music, embracing versatility and innovation in everything from great symphonies to exciting festivals to bold new musical adventures.

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