Gambarini: English Impresaria
Academy of Ancient Music, Bojan Čičić, Mhairi Lawson
Milton Court. 15 March 2026

Handel: Judas Maccabaeus: Overture; Pious orgies; Come, ever-smiling liberty; March. Occasional Oratorio: O liberty. Joseph and his Brethren: Prophetic raptures

Gambarini (arr. Rachel Stroud): Orchestrated music from Op. 1;
Behold and Listen; Se mai fosse la mia forte; Minuet in A major

Geminiani: Concerto Grosso Op.7 No. 6

Tessarini: Ouverture in D major, Op. 4 La Stravaganza; Violin Concerto, Op. 1 No. 7

The search for little-known female composers has been the focus of many concerts in recent years, and Elisabetta de Gambarini (1731- 1765) deserves discovery, helped by this concert from the Academy of Ancient Music put together by the AAM’s resident Research Fellow. She was prominent in 18th-century England as a composer, singer, and harpsichordist. Her career started aged just 16 when she sang in Handel’s Occasional Oratorio. That clearly went well, because Handel then selected her for Judas Maccabaeus (as the Israelite Woman) and Joseph and his Brethren and, seemingly, also for Samson and Messiah.

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