Dunedin Consort

Fun for all the family is guaranteed in our interactive 45-minute concerts specifically devised for children which will include all the best tunes from Handel’s Messiah. You can even expect an appearance from Handel himself to introduce his most famous melodies…! No age restriction.

When Handel’s Messiah was first unveiled to the public in 1742, it caused a sensation. Dublin’s Musick Hall was so full that the men attended ‘without swords’ and the ladies were asked to wear skirts ‘without hoops’ to make room for more listeners. The press declared a triumph: ‘The Sublime, the Grand, and the Tender... conspired to transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear.’ More than 250 years on, it still holds a remarkable place in the repertoire, its…

Fun for all the family is guaranteed in our interactive 45-minute concerts specifically devised for children which will include all the best tunes from Handel’s Messiah. You can even expect an appearance from Handel himself to introduce his most famous melodies…! No age restriction.

When Handel’s Messiah was first unveiled to the public in 1742, it caused a sensation. Dublin’s Musick Hall was so full that the men attended ‘without swords’ and the ladies were asked to wear skirts ‘without hoops’ to make room for more listeners. The press declared a triumph: ‘The Sublime, the Grand, and the Tender... conspired to transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear.’ More than 250 years on, it still holds a remarkable place in the repertoire, its…

Bach’s glorious Magnificat, composed for his first Christmas in Leipzig, was designed to impress — its elaborate text painting and wide range of moods making it one of the most vivid works in Bach’s choral repertoire. So too, was his intricate motet for double choir, Singet dem Herrn, which Bach composed in Leipzig just a few years later. These choral masterpieces are matched here by the glittering orchestration and staggering virtuosity of his Suite in B minor and Brandenburg Concerto…

Every chapter of history has its turning point, every revolution its leader. The revival of historically informed performance – the lifeblood of what we do at Dunedin Consort – owes much to Arnold Dolmetsch, a fanatical instrument collector who in pioneering the early music revival of the late-nineteenth century ‘opened the door to a forgotten treasure-house of beauty’. Join us as we recreate one of the performances that kick-started this remarkable revolution, where music by Purcell, Handel, Kuhnau and Rameau…

Every chapter of history has its turning point, every revolution its leader. The revival of historically informed performance – the lifeblood of what we do at Dunedin Consort – owes much to Arnold Dolmetsch, a fanatical instrument collector who in pioneering the early music revival of the late-nineteenth century ‘opened the door to a forgotten treasure-house of beauty’. Join us as we recreate one of the performances that kick-started this remarkable revolution, where music by Purcell, Handel, Kuhnau and Rameau…

In the years before his reputation as the opera composer du jour was forged, Handel poured his creativity into a series of increasingly adventurous cantatas, among the most ambitious of which is Apollo and Daphne. Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this ancient fable finds striking parallels with modern day power struggles, as Daphne fights to resist Apollo’s advances and transforms herself into a laurel tree, her branches watered forever by his tears. This extraordinary tale of passion and penitence is rendered…

In the years before his reputation as the opera composer du jour was forged, Handel poured his creativity into a series of increasingly adventurous cantatas, among the most ambitious of which is Apollo and Daphne. Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this ancient fable finds striking parallels with modern day power struggles, as Daphne fights to resist Apollo’s advances and transforms herself into a laurel tree, her branches watered forever by his tears. This extraordinary tale of passion and penitence is rendered…

In the years before his reputation as the opera composer du jour was forged, Handel poured his creativity into a series of increasingly adventurous cantatas, among the most ambitious of which is Apollo e Dafne. Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this ancient fable finds striking parallels with modern day power struggles, as Daphne fights to resist Apollo’s advances and transforms herself into a laurel tree, her branches watered forever by his tears. This extraordinary tale of passion and penitence is rendered…

The B Minor Mass is one of Bach’s greatest curiosities. A true piece of musical patchwork, this extraordinary amalgamation of arrangements, recomposed fragments and new ideas together spans more than 25 years of Bach’s career. And yet, Bach never heard it performed. Nor did he expect to - since it fits neither the Catholic or Protestant liturgy, its purpose remains tantalisingly elusive. But in its scale, ambition and dramatic, inexorable unfolding, the B Minor Mass remains one of his most…

From the intractable swell of the opening chorus to the profound solemnity of the last, its tone one of quiet resignation, the Matthew Passion is a work with the power to move us like no other. Bach conceived it on a grand scale, allowing for double chorus and double orchestra, and the themes it explores are just as monumental too. How each of us, of all faiths and none, can find joy and hope even amidst the depths of sorrow.…

From the intractable swell of the opening chorus to the profound solemnity of the last, its tone one of quiet resignation, the Matthew Passion is a work with the power to move us like no other. Bach conceived it on a grand scale, allowing for double chorus and double orchestra, and the themes it explores are just as monumental too. How each of us, of all faiths and none, can find joy and hope even amidst the depths of sorrow.…

Bach’s rich musical legacy as we know it today is partly the result of a historical accident. When he applied for the position of Kantor at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche in 1722, Bach was only third choice for the post. Telemann turned the offer down after some deliberation, and Graupner was not released from his post of Kapellmeister in Hesse. ‘Since we cannot get the best, then we will have to settle for average’, the Council concluded, as it handed the title…

Bach’s rich musical legacy as we know it today is partly the result of a historical accident. When he applied for the position of Kantor at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche in 1722, Bach was only third choice for the post. Telemann turned the offer down after some deliberation and Graupner was not released from his post of Kapellmeister in Hesse. ‘Since we cannot get the best, then we will have to settle for average’, the Council concluded, as it handed the title…

Bach’s rich musical legacy as we know it today is partly the result of a historical accident. When he applied for the position of Kantor at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche in 1722, Bach was only third choice for the post. Telemann turned the offer down after some deliberation and Graupner was not released from his post of Kapellmeister in Hesse. ‘Since we cannot get the best, then we will have to settle for average’, the Council concluded, as it handed the title…