Purcell and the Composers of the Present

Arias, choruses and expressive preludes from Henry Purcell's semi-opera The Fairy Queen (1692) form a baroque thread that runs through the programme. In a playful way, the music illustrates motifs from William Shakespeare's famous play A Midsummer Night's Dream: nature and the rivalry of the seasons, the contradictions of love and the magic of the night. Alongside these works, compositions by female composers Caroline Shaw, Laura Marconi and Meredi appear, as well as Hypophysis, a collaboration between the ensemble Sjaella and artist Shara Nova. The concert finally settles into nocturnal quietude with Purcell's serene Hush no more, be silent all. Between birdsong, summer night, longing and silence, the programme traverses the baroque imagination and contemporary perspectives on nature and human emotion. Pre-concert talk by Luís Bastos Machado at 7:30 pm. El Corte Inglés supports the CCB's Classical Music Mediation Programme.