"Battle of the Kings: Chamber Music from the Courts of Louis XIV and Charles II”

Mary-Jannet Leith, Recorders

Magdalena Loth-Hill, Baroque violin

Florence Petit, Baroque cello

Thomas Allery, Harpsichord

In the late seventeenth century, every king and queen in Europe envied the artistic resources and dazzling entertainments at the court of King Louis XIV of France. The English King Charles II experienced the full impact of King Louis’ artistic empire in Versailles during the British interregnum. When he returned to England to ascend the throne in 1661, Charles was determined to restore the monarchy as the leader in musical patronage, and immediately sought out England’s finest musicians to rival the musical styles and scale of French court.

In this concert we present music from both sides of the channel by royal chamber composers, to let you decide which king had the best musical taste! From the Court of Louis XIV, one of Francois Couperin’s Concerts Royaux, a solo harpsichord transcription of pieces from Lully’s operas by Jean-Henry d’Anglebert, and a trio sonata by the child prodigy Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, who first performed at the royal court at the age of five. Also on the French side, trios by Jacques Hotteterre, and Jean-Fery Rebel, one of Louis’s famous band of violins, “Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi”.

Over in England, Charles II was determined to match the forces of this incredible five-part ensemble, creating an identical ensemble, the “24 Violins”, led by some of the foremost English musicians of the day, such as the composer John Banister, the founder of the modern-day concert series. We will perform some of Banister’s divisions, alongside a sparkling trio sonata by Henry Purcell, organist of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal. Charles II loved dance music that he could beat time to, so for his court, we’ll also perform our own arrangement of dance music from a suite of Purcell.

Approx. finish time 8.00pm (with interval).