Arcangelo Members Lounge
Welcome to the Arcangelo Members Lounge: Winter 2022
The Arcangelo Members Lounge is a private online space, created in 2020. From Summer 2022, the Members Lounge is offered exclusively to Arcangelo’s Friends and closest supporters, and updated once a quarter. For feedback or ideas about published or future content please email julian@arcangelo.org.uk
Recording Study Day 2022 – the film!
Tuesday 11 October witnessed an enjoyable innovation: the first ever ‘Arcangelo Recording Study Day’, held at the East India Club in Piccadilly. Over four varied sessions, we explored a little of the colourful and sometimes controversial backgrounds to some of the music which Arcangelo is recording this season. We were aided in our journey of discovery by five erudite experts, and entertained with live and recorded music. There was always going to be a huge amount to take in, and some Arcangelo supporters were never going to be able to make it in person – so we recorded it all and are pleased to share the finished films here which we hope very much you will enjoy.
To best enjoy each session, we advise that you click on the “Watch on YouTube” icon on each video (in the bottom left hand corner). This will then open the video at a fuller size in YouTube where you will also be able to access the video description beneath the video, which contains handy quick-links to key sections of each session (just click on the blue timecode).
Introduction & Session 1: Boccherini and the rise of the cello
Following introductions to the day from Julian and Jonny, our first session explored the Victorian misappropriation of Boccherini’s remarkable cello concerti, and the project by Arcangelo and virtuoso cellist Nicolas Altstaedt to restore them to their authenic glory. Our guest presenter was Jason Price of Tarisio Fine Instruments & Bows.
Session 2: Handel and the ‘Lost English Versailles’
In the second session we took a trip to Middlesex and the site of James Brydges’ failed ‘English Versailles’ at Canons Park and wondered how Handel’s ‘Chandos Anthems’ might have truly sounded. We also considered the ageless topics of boom and bust, and their consequences for the arts and investors. Our guest presenters were Aaron Graham of University College London and Greg Davies of Oxford Risk.
Sessions 3 and 4: Handel’s ‘Theodora’ – A Very Moral Drama
In the third and fourth sessions we considered Handel’s penultimate oratorio ‘Theodora’. For Arcangelo supporters it’s a work that connotes only success – but for Handel and his librettist Thomas Morrell it was a different story. Our guest presenter was Ruth Smith and we enjoyed live performances from soprano Jessica Cale and bass-baritone Michael Mofidian.
Teaser: Arcangelo & Tim Mead present ‘Sacroprofano’
Our next recording to be released on Alpha Classics is also Arcangelo’s first recording collaboration with counter-tenor Tim Mead. Titled ‘Sacroprofano’, the album presents a beautifully-contrasted selection of sacred and worldy vocal works by Antonio Vivaldi. Ahead of the album’s release on digital and streaming services on 20 January 2023, we are excited to offer Arcangelo Friends this exclusive teaser from the album’s music video, featuring the aria ‘Ah ch’infelice sempre’ from the cantata ‘Cessate, omai, cessate’.
Support our 2022-23 Recording Projects.
Following a year off in 2021-22 (and a pandemic flurry in 2020-21) we decisively resume our recording schedule in 2022-23 with a superb and ambitious range of projects. Fundraising appeals for these projects are now open, and donations can be made easily and securely via our new-style appeal pages. Donations are eligible for an attractive range of benefits, including equivalent benefits of the Arcangelo Friends Scheme. See the individual appeal pages for details.
Buxtehude: ‘Opus Posthumous’
Intricate, playful, odd – quintessentially baroque – Buxtehude’s trio sonatas have found ideal champions in Arcangelo whose two recordings to date earned plaudits including a GRAMMY nomination. In January 2023 we complete our survey of this marvellous music by recording chamber works unpublished during the composer’s lifetime.
Telemann: Paris Quartets
As a counterpart to our Buxtehude project, we will be creating Arcangelo’s first-ever full length film recording. Appropriately, we’ve chosen one of the great foundational works of modern chamber music from Telemann’s ‘Paris’ Quartets of the 1730s. Our filming location is the contemporary 18th century Wren Library at Trinity College Cambridge.
Handel: Chandos Anthems
Handel’s ‘Chandos Anthems’ are products of the remarkable and short-lived “English Versailles” that flourished at the Cannons Park stately home of James Brydges, Duke of Chandos. Written in a bravura Italianate style, these psalm settings represent the high watermark of English Baroque liturgical music – and are overdue the Arcangelo treatment!
Handel: Theodora
Arcangelo’s much-praised 2018 BBC Proms performance of Handel’s sublime late oratorio reignited interest in the work. Following repeat performances at the Vienna Konzerthaus (2020), Barbican Centre and DeSingel Antwerp (2022) we are delighted to make the first new studio recording of ‘Theodora’ in a quarter of a century, with a peerless cast led by Louise Alder.
Boccherini: Cello Concerti Vol.II
Following a BBC Music Magazine Award for our recording of cello concerti by C.P.E. Bach, Arcangelo and Nicolas Altstaedt turn their attentions to the equally virtuosic concerti of Boccherini. These recording sessions in May 2023 will be for the second volume in the series, with the first volume recorded in 2021 and due for release in Spring 2023.
Will we see you in 2023?
2023 is set to be a vintage year for Arcangelo with a host of venue debuts, new concert programmes and ambitious recordings. We have a number of opportunities for Friends to join us in the coming months, some of them exclusive to Friends, others with exclusive discounts. We hope very much to see you at one or more.
13th January – Arcangelo at Fidelio Café
On Friday 13th January, Arcangelo makes its first appearance at London’s Fidelio Café for an evening of music and fine food. Jonny will be joining Sophie Gent, Thomas Dunford, Georgia Browne and Jonathan Manson for a quintessentally chamber baroque programme of Telemann and Buxtehude.
Arcangelo Friends can enjoy the concert and a three-course meal for £100 (normal price £115). To secure your tickets at this rate, please quote FROGATFIDELIO when booking directly with Fidelio Café.
15th January – filming sessions in Cambridge
What better venue for Arcangelo’s first video recording project than the historic Wren Library at Trinity College Cambridge – where nobody has ever filmed music before!
We have limited capacity – 10 spaces – for a small group of supporters to join us at the Wren on the afternoon of Sunday 15th January and to watch the filming led by director Andrew Staples. To find out more about the event and to enquire about availability please email Nathan.
20th January – New Ensemblists Masterclass
We warmly invite you to attend an Open Masterclass event at the Amadeus Centre on the afternoon of Friday 20th January and join our three New Ensemblists as they explore various aspects of musicianship and performance with mentors Jonathan Cohen, Sophie Gent and Jonathan Manson.
29th March – our Barbican debut
Wednesday 29th March marks the date for Arcangelo’s return to Handel’s masterpiece ‘Theodora’ – and our Barbican debut!
We truly hope that as many of you as possible can join us for what promises to be a triumphant night and have organised a special pre-concert reception in the Fountain Room at Barbican Centre, along with a special rate for Friends to enjoy this concert in prime position seating for the discounted rate of £40.
If there’s one Arcangelo event you mustn’t miss in 2023, it’s this one – come one, come all!