From the moment the 25 year old Handel arrived in London in 1710, he was welcomed onto the English musical scene with open arms, and for the next 30 years composed Italian operas for an enthusiastic public. However, when operatic taste waned in the 1730’s, the ever resourceful Handel turned his skills to a completely new form of entertainment; oratorio, and works such as Messiah, Theodora and Solomon instantly appealed to a national sense of religious piety. Add to these works a handful of royal commissions, concertos, sonatas — and even tunes for musical clocks — and you glimpse a composer whose musical variety was reflected in an equally diverse and colourful life. Through keyboard music, song and digital images, Peter Medhurst presents a lively account of Handel’s musical adventures in London.

Peter Medhurst: Except for summer holidays spent in Eastern Germany with his grandparents, Peter Medhurst sang three services every Sunday between the ages of 8 and 16. This, and a beloved collection of obscure classical music on LPs, was the foundation of his musical training, after which he went to the Royal College of Music to study singing with the opera singers Redvers Llewellyn and Edgar Evans. In 1978 he won a scholarship from the Austrian Government to study abroad with Erik Werba at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and on his return to the RCM, as a postgraduate, he picked up the threads of his keyboard playing and polished his skills as a pianist and harpsichordist with Ruth Dyson. His work as a singer, harpsichordist and lecturer takes him all over the world, and engagements this year range from The Three Choirs Festival to a tour of South Africa for the months of October and November. His main work in 2009–10, however, is the celebration – through recitals, talks and recordings – of 250 years since the death of Handel, and 300 years since the composer arrived in England. A new CD entitled Handel and his Satellites – 18th century English Harpsichord Music came out earlier this year.

Tickets: £25   (including a light lunch, a glass of wine and tea).