Tilford Bach Festival programme 19 - 21 June, 2026
Musical director: Adrian Butterfield, Director of the London Handel Players and Professor of Baroque Violin at the Royal College of Music
A glorious, light-filled introduction to the joy and precision of Baroque dance and gesture
with audience participation
The London Handel Players and their dancers, Mary Collins and Steven Player, are renowned for their lively revivals of original choreographies and gestures from the Baroque period.
This programme, a glorious, light-filled introduction to the joy and precision of Baroque movement, brings historical dances to life with music by Handel, Corelli, Lully, Campra and J.S. Bach, including his famous B minor flute suite.
After the performance, members of the audience are invited to take part in an informal dance workshop under the guidance of our dancers, accompanied by the London Handel Players.
Bach’s sublime Easter Oratorio and his moving Cantata BWV 21, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis
The London Handel Players, Pegasus choir and our exceptional soloists - Hilary Cronin (soprano), Hugh Cutting, (alto) Sam Boden (tenor), and Edward Grint (bass) perform these pieces of great drama and emotional intensity.
The sublime Easter Oratorio differs from Bach’s other sacred works in having no original biblical text, no Evangelist narrator and no chorales; the recitatives and arias are sung by four biblical characters, almost like a Passion Play.
The cantata, "Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis" starts in sombre mood; but shifts to the joyful assurance of salvation, closing with a triumphant hymn of praise.
Celebrate the "Joy of Baroque" with the next generation of virtuosi.
We have a wonderful programme to bring you the best emerging Baroque musicians.
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Corelli - Concerto Grosso No. 1 in D major
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Leclair - Flute concerto in C major
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JS Bach - Double violin concerto in D minor BWV1043
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Geminiani - Concerto Grosso "La Follia"
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Vivaldi - Concerto Grosso in G minor
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Vivaldi - "Summer" from The Four Seasons