Italy

In their survey of the trio sonata, London Baroque has already visited France, England and Germany and now arrives at the birthplace of the genre – Italy in the 17th Century. In this period, instrumental music was becoming important in its own right, and soon the violin was recognized as the ideal vehicle for this new style.

Soprano Lucy Crowe joins The English Concert led by Harry Bicket in this dazzling programme of Handel arias and cantatas dating from his 1706-10 sojourn in Italy, where he was affectionately dubbed ‘the dear Saxon’. 2nd in the 2005 Kathleen Ferrier and a Wigmore Young Artist, Lucy Crowe made her debuts with Scottish Opera as Sophie in 'Der Rosenkavalier' and ENO as Poppea in 'Agrippina', both to great critical acclaim.