Wednesday 24 February 2021 from 7pm to 8:15pm Friday 26 February 2021 from 7pm to 8:30pm Saturday 27 February 2021 from 2pm to 3:15pm Saturday 27 February 2021 from 7pm to 8:30pm Tuesday 2 March 2021 from 7pm to 8:30pm Friday 5 March 2021 from 7pm to 8:30pm
La Città Eterna had been a sparkling metropolis for more than two thousand years when a brilliant young musician from Halle arrived. Drawn by its drama, Rome would be imprinted forever on the musical mind of George Frideric Handel.
Handel absorbed Baroque Rome’s dynamism and met minds with its most glamorous musicians. One of these characters, the great violinist Arcangelo Corelli, composed Twelve Concerti Grossi which are today regarded as the earliest and finest examples of the form. Two concertos from the set - both in the triumphant key of D major - will be performed in luminous arrangements for string orchestra, Baroque trumpets and sackbutts.
While Handel was in Rome, opera had been banned by Papal decree. Turning his attention to music for the church, Handel composed one of his most eternal works. The great composer's virtuosic setting of Psalm 110, Dixit Dominus, unites the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with the full Brandenburg Choir in a dazzling start to the season.