Almost exactly 500 years ago Martin Luther began the Reformation as a protest against the abuses of the Catholic church.  The Reformation and the subsequent Counter-Reformation divided Europe into hostile armed camps for generations and led eventually to the 30 Years War, the most destructive conflict before modern times.  But musicians continually crossed the religious divide and the great composers produced a creative synthesis of Protestant and Catholic sensibilities, often vividly reflecting the turmoil of the time.

This unusual and fascinating programme, much of it for divided choir and six-part strings, ranges from Michael Praetorius’s extraordinary italianate setting of the Lutheran chorale ‘Wachet auf’ to Agostino Steffani’s great Stabat Mater, probably composed in the 1690s as part of a plan to reconvert northern Germany.  The theme is explored further in music by Heinrich Schutz and Handel (both eloquent prayers for peace in wartime), Johann Rosenmuller (a Protestant in Venice) and J.S. Bach (a reworking of a grand Sanctus by the Catholic Johann Caspar Kerll).

With a pre-concert talk at 4.30pm in Gainsborough’s House by Professor Stephen Rose.  SOLD OUT (contact us to be put on the reserve list)

In memory of Nigel Rodley (1941 – 2017)