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26th – 28th September &
3rd – 5th October
300 years has done little to dull Handel’s legacy; if anything, his music is just as popular now, if not more so, than during his lifetime. What makes him such a relatable character, and a vital part of the English musical establishment? Are we captivated by his astute business sense and entrepreneurship, his ambition, his refusal to be pigeon-holed, his way of dealing with tricky singers, his love of fine food and wine, his piety, his closely guarded private life? Ultimately, none of that matters, as it is Handel’s wonderful music, that has ensured his lasting legacy.
Handel is masterful in the way his music allows us to explore every part of the emotional spectrum, from his earliest teenage works, right up to his most mature works, composed and then tweaked right at the end of his life. love:Handel 2025 presents an overview of works dating from 1699, right through to the late 1750s, chamber and orchestral, vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular, showing just what it is about this music that we love.
All concerts feature verbal introductions, putting the music firmly in context, which we have found so helpful in introducing new audiences to this wonderful repertoire, making it accessible and relevant for everyone.
The award-winning Brook Street Band explores Handel’s incredible musical genius in Inspiration & Legacy, the spark behind his musical ideas, and how this ‘colossus’ of a man went on to shape English and European musical life from the 18th century to the present day.
Event 1: Concert
Handel, Bach, Telemann – The Power of Three
Rachel Harris & Kathryn Parry (violins), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)
We open love:Handel 2025 with a musical adventure originating in Lutheran Germany and ending in cosmopolitan London, via stories of Popes and Cardinals in Rome, bustling business and gambling debts in Hamburg, and city life in Leipzig. The Power of Three celebrates the lives of these great composers who created some of the most beautiful, exciting, moving and virtuosic chamber music of the eighteenth century.
7-9pm The Octagon Chapel £25
Music: Handel – Trio Sonata in C Saul, Bach – Trio Sonata in D minor BWV 527, Telemann – Trio Sonata in G TWV 42 G11, Telemann – Intrada in D TWV 42:D10, Bach – Trio Sonata in C BWV 529, Handel – Trio Sonata in F Op.5 No.6
Event 2: Concert
Handel – Friends, Foes and Flattery
Rachel Harris & Kathryn Parry (violins), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)
Who doesn’t like a bit of friendly rivalry? Handel’s England was full of colourful characters such as composers Thomas Arne, William Boyce, and Charles Burney, all jostling for prominent positions in the musical establishment, using whatever means they could to propel themselves into the limelight. We showcase their music alongside Handel’s, giving a glimpse into this highly competitive world, including music composed in East Anglia.
12-1pm The Octagon Chapel £15
Music: Handel – Trio Sonata in F HWV392, Burney – Trio Sonata in D minor Op.4 No.1, Arne – Trio Sonata in Eb Op.3 No.3, Boyce – Trio Sonata in G minor No.4, Handel – Handel Trio Sonata in B flat Op.2 No.3
Event 3: Talk
Handel – Transformations
Stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses inspired an array of baroque music, literature, art and sculpture. Setting the scene for our performance of Apollo e Dafne, musicologist David Vickers explores how Ovidian transformative tales occurred throughout Handel’s career in Italy, Hanover and London.
5.30-6.30pm The Octagon Chapel £10
Event 4: Concert
Apollo e Dafne
Ana Beard Fernández (Dafne), Edward Grint (Apollo)
Rachel Harris & Kathryn Parry (violins), Lucy Theo (viola), Joel Raymond & Oonagh Lee (oboes/recorder), Catriona McDermid (bassoon), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)
Handel’s time in Italy as a young man (1707-1710) yielded rich musical rewards, including this dramatic cantata telling the story of Apollo’s ill-fated love for Dafne. We set the scene with Italian-inspired chamber music by Handel and his contemporaries, bringing to life this thrilling period in Handel’s life.
7.00-9.00pm The Octagon Chapel £25
Music: Handel Alcina Suite, Handel – Sinfonia in B flat HWV339, Handel – Oboe Sonata, Handel – Sonata a cinque HWV288, Handel – Apollo e Dafne
Event 5: Narrated Concert
Kitchen Conversations
Mark Bennett (narrator), Rachel Harris & Kathryn Parry (violins), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)
Are you hungry? Join us in our imagined ‘kitchen’ as we musically prepare and cook dinner for friends. Music by Telemann, Handel, JS Bach, CPE Bach, Rameau, Purcell, Errollyn Wallen provides a rich baroque diet to nourish mind and soul, the perfect food for thought, a dash of sustenance and spice, juicy gossip and deep conversation.
The Assembly House, 1-2.15pm £15
Music: Handel – Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Matteis – Ground after the Scotch Humour, Handel Trio Sonata in A Op.5 No.1, Rameau – Les Lardons et La Poule, Telemann – Trio Sonata in E flat from Tafelmusik, TWV 42:Es1, CPE Bach – Allegretto from Trio Sonata in C minor, Wq. 161/1, H. 579 Sanguineus et Melancholicus, Anon – Strawberries and Cream, Bach – Ei! Wie schmeckt BWV 211 from Coffee Cantata, Anon – Duke of Norfolk, Errollyn Wallen – What’s up Doc, Purcell – The Fairy Queen, Act 5, Chaconne
Event 6: Narrated Concert
As Steals the Morn Upon the Night
Mark Bennett (narrator) Rachel Harris & Kathryn Parry (violins), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)
Suspend reality and travel with us through the night, a place of wonder and creativity, where different worlds, centuries, and the musical influences of Purcell, Couperin, Merula, Biber, Montéclair, Bach, Handel, and Telemann collide. Central to our night is Nitin Sawhney’s Early Transitions which in Nitin’s words explores ‘connections between Eastern and Western classical ideas with particular reference to my love of Baroque music, Indian classical raga and mathematical interactions’. A real chance to dream…
The Assembly House, 3.30-4.45pm, £15
Music: Merula – Ciaccona, Biber – Ciacona from Der Nachtwacher, Telemann – Modere from Paris Quartet in E minor, Monteclair – 1st movt Serenade Ou Concert, Bach – Trio Sonata in C minor BWV 526, Nitin Sawhney – Early Transitions, Handel – Organ concerto/Trio Sonata in F Op.5 No.6, Couperin – Le Reveil-Matin, Merula – Ciaccona
Event 7: Concert
Young Composers Award Concert
Rachel Harris & Kathryn Parry (violins), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)
Handel’s trio sonatas opus 5 were the starting point for the 2025 Young Composers Award, held in partnership with the National Centre for Early Music and BBC Radio 3. The Brook Street Band gives the world premiere performances of the winning compositions by Avram Harris and Kit McCarthy, alongside pieces by Handel that inspired them. This concert will be recorded for broadcast on 9 November for The Early Music Show.
The Octagon Chapel, 7-8.15pm £15
Music: Handel – Trio Sonata in G Major Op.5 No.4, Trio Sonata in D major Op.5 No.2, Trio Sonata in F major Op.5 No.6, Trio Sonata in G minor Op.2 No.5, Kit McCarthy – Molten Kaleidoscope, Avram Harris – Transient Variations
Event 8: Chamber Concert
Joseph and George
Rachel Harris (violin), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)
If you like quirky, virtuosic and thrilling violin music look no further. We’ve uncovered some real baroque gems, all popular in England in Handel’s time, including music by East Anglian composer Joseph Gibbs (previewed here in advance of our next CD release), paired here with some of Handel’s greatest violin sonatas.
The Octagon Chapel 12-1pm £15
Music: Handel – Violin Sonata in G HWV 358, Gibbs – Violin Sonata in G Op.1 No.3, Handel – Violin Sonata in A HWV 372, Gibbs – Violin Sonata in A Op.1 No.2, Handel – Violin Sonata in E HWV 373 Gibbs – Violin Sonata in E Op.1 No.5
Event 9:
In Conversation With…
Handel was the first composer to have a statue erected during his lifetime. 3000 people attended his funeral, and only 15 years after his death the English tradition of Handel commemorations was established, lasting into the twentieth century. Join Tatty Theo and special guests looking at Handel’s incredible life and legacy, and how it has shaped The Brook Street Band.
The Octagon Chapel 5.30-6.30pm £10
Event 10: Orchestral Concert
The Pleasure Gardens
Norwich Baroque and The Brook Street Band
Revel in the sounds of these popular recreational spaces in cities such as London and Norwich, their beautiful settings providing places to socialise, listening to popular music of the day. In collaboration with Norwich Baroque we evoke the magic of The Pleasure Gardens, with orchestral concertos and symphonies by Handel, Boyce and Geminiani.
The Octagon Chapel 7-9pm £25
Music: Boyce – Symphony in F No. 4, Avison – Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op.4 No.4, Geminiani – Concerto Grosso in B flat, Op.3 No.5, Handel – Concerto Grosso in B flat Op.6 No.7
— Interval —
Boyce – Symphony in B flat No.1, Avison – Concerto Grosso in D Op.4 No.3, Handel – Concerto Grosso in F Op.6 No.9, Geminiani – Concerto Grosso in D minor Folia
Event 11:
Family Concert
A firm favourite in Norwich’s musical calendar, The BSB presents a totally free family concert for all generations, where you can find out more about our instruments and hear some of our favourite baroque music by Handel and his friends.
The Assembly House 10.30-11.15am Free
Event 12:
Festival Finale –The English Orpheus
James Gilchrist – tenor, The Brook Street Band
Our 2025 festival finale features one of the world’s finest singers, tenor James Gilchrist, celebrating the wealth of wonderful vocal repertoire spanning over 150 years by three of the greatest English composers, with accompanied songs by Dowland and Purcell, plus Handel arias and his stunning cantata Look Down Harmonious Saint.
The Assembly House 3.30-5.15pm, £25
Music: Dowland – Flow my Tears, If my complaints, In Darkness, Purcell – Chaccony, So when the glitt’ring Queen of Night, Evening Hymn, The Sparrow and the gentle Dove
— Interval —
Handel – Look down Harmonious Saint , Where E’er you Walk (Semele), Descend Kind Pity (Theodora), Passacaglia (Radamisto), Waft her Angels (Jephtha), Every Valley (Messiah)
Events are priced individually.
If you plan on attending multiple events (which we hope you are!), there are competitively-priced festival passes available for Weekend 1(£90), Weekend 2 (£75) or Whole Festival (£150)
The Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
The Assembly House (Music Room), Theatre Street, Norwich, NR2 1RQ
love:Handel 2025 has been generously supported by Anguish’s Educational Foundation, The Assembly House Trust, The Brook Street Band Trust, the Continuo Foundation, The Garrick Charitable Trust, and the Norwich Freemen’s Charity.
Programme is subject to change, information correct at time of going to print.
love:Handel 2025 would not be possible without the generous support of Anguish’s Educational Foundation, The Brook Street Band Trust, the Continuo Foundation, the Garrick Charitable Trust, The Assembly House Trust, the Norwich Freemen’s Charity, and several donors who wish to remain anonymous.
The Brook Street Band is hugely grateful for your support. Thank you!