Brook Street Band

London International Festival of Early Music

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

London International Festival of Early Music
November 2022
Now available to view on Marquee TV

For those who, like me, were not able to get to this November’s London International Festival of Early Music (LIFEM), the five concerts from St Michael & All Angels Church, Blackheath can now be viewed on Marquee TV under the heading LIFEM 2020. The link is here. You can use the code LIFEM50 to sign up for a free seven-day trial, as well as 50% off an annual Marquee TV subscription. Concerts from the 2021 festival are also available to view.

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Lampe: The Dragon of Wantley

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

John Frederick Lampe: The Dragon of Wantley 
The Brook Street Band, John Andrews
Resonus Classics RES10304. 2CDs 59’44+44’12

Mary Bevan soprano, Margery
Catherine Carby mezzo soprano, Mauxalinda
Mark Wilde tenor, Moore of Moore Hall
John Savournin bass-baritone, Gaffer Gubbins and The Drago

The German-born bassoonist and composer John Frederick Lampe is little-known today, as is this opera, but both were well-known in their time. A recording of his opera The Dragon of Wantley is well worthwhile, although the subtleties of the irony of the text and the pastiche of the music, let alone the possible allusions to the politics of the day, may escape a present-day listener. But no matter, the music is delightful and the oh-so-rhyming text is funny, in a deliberately hamfisted way.

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Arne: Judgement of Paris

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Thomas Arne: The Judgement of Paris
Brook Street Band, John Andrews
Dutton Epoch CDLX 7361. 67’50

If it wasn’t for his Rule Britannia (1710-1778), Thomas Arne would probably be more-or-less forgotten today. Although he wrote music for nearly 100 stage works, most of his scores are lost, many destroyed in the 1808 Covent Garden fire. Such was the fate of the full score of The Judgement of Paris, although parts if it had been published. The version performed here is based on that publication, with the missing recitatives and choruses reconstructed by Ian Spink for his Musica Britannica edition. It was first performed at Drury Lane Theatre in March 1742 and, three months later, in Dublin alongside his masque Alfred. His wife Cecilia Young sang the role of Venus. Continue reading →

SJSS: Muffat Festival

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson ~ Leave a comment

Muffat Festival
The Brook Street Band
St John’s, Smith Square, 25 February 2018

With four concerts, a dance workshop and a talk spread over a weekend, the St John’s, Smith Square Muffat Festival focussed on Georg Muffat (1653-1704), that most innovative of composers, and the music that both influenced him and was, in turn, influenced by him. Curiously, of the 26 works played during the weekend, only six were actually by Muffat, a sadly missed opportunity to highlight more of his music, much of which is underperformed. The first concert (23 February) concentrated on the German Violin School, with pieces by Schmelzer, Biber and Krieger following the opening Muffat Sonata 2 from his 1682 Armonico Tributo. Dance was the focus of the second concert (24 February), with Muffat sharing the honours with Lully, Handel and Bach. The Italian Influence was explored in the first of two Sunday concerts (25 February), with pieces by Corelli and Handel and a Muffat Violin Sonata. The weekend finished with a focus on the Concerto, with more Bach and Handel along with Geminiani, all at least one generation younger that Muffat. It concluded with Muffat’s Sonata No. 5 in G from Armonico Tributo with its extraordinary extended concluding Passacaglia – one of the highlights of Muffat’s orchestral output.  Continue reading →

Handel: Apollo e Daphne

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson ~ Leave a comment

Handel: Apollo e Daphne
The Brook Street Band
17 July 2016

Given their name (referring to the London street where Handel made his home) it was not surprising that The Brook Street Band chose to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a concert of Handel: his cantata, Apollo e Daphne preceded by two Trio Sonatas and the ‘Oxford’ Water Music.  Normally appearing as a quartet of two violins, cello and harpsichord, they added a flute for part of the Water Music, and oboes, bassoon and viola for the cantata. All the instrumental pieces had an interesting back story, Continue reading →

Handel: Trio Sonatas

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson ~ Leave a comment

Handel: Trio Sonatas
The Brook Street Band
Avie AV2357. 76’10

Sinfonia in B flat HWV 339; Trio Sonatas in F HWV 392, B flat HWV 50a ‘Esther’, G minor HWV 393; in E HWV 394; C minor HWV 386a; C HWV 403 ‘Saul’.

Trio Sonatas for Two Violins and Basso ContinuoThe Brook Street Band, named after the London street where Handel lived for the last 36 years of his life, celebrate their 20th anniversary this year. As well as his well known Opus 2 and 5 sets of Trio Sonatas, Handel left a number of isolated examples of the genre, three of them normally referred to as the ‘Dresden’ sonatas where the manuscript is housed. To these three (HWV 392-4), are added two other proper trio sonatas (386a and 403) and two other pieces arranged by the Brook Street Band in a trio sonata format, the early Sinfonia and an early version of the overture to Esther, both of which helpfully lack an viola part. Many of the movements are examples of Handel’s re-use of material, and there are a number of familiar melodies that crop up with an otherwise lesser known group of pieces. Notable amongst Continue reading →