The music more full than it was
Sat 31 October · Cambridge
Saturday, 31 October 2026 · 7:30 pm – 7:30 pm
About
Arcangelo, an ensemble committed to deep listening skills and the artistry of chamber music making, is celebrated for its collective energy and spirit.
Sacred vocal music from the Restoration era of Charles II illustrates the continuous line of beauty English composers threaded through the turbulent years of civil war and social upheaval.
Emotionally-charged anthems by Pelham Humfrey, Maurice Greene and Matthew Locke seem poised between past and future.
Handel’s majestic setting of words from the Book of Psalms formed the soundtrack of England emerging into a new era of optimism and opportunity. England’s Chapel Royal, in the years before and after Oliver Cromwell’s Republic, nurtured some of the nation’s finest composers.
After attending one of its services in 1662, Samuel Pepys observed ‘musique more full than it was’, referring to a newly-energised era of composition under the restored monarchy, aided by foreign influences and new money.
Programme Not unto us, O Lord Matthew Locke How doth the city sit solitary O give thanks unto the Lord God spake sometime in visions Lord, let me know mine end Maurice Greene O praise the Lord with one consent Henry Purcell My beloved spake George Frideric Handel Hear more about the music of the Restoration and its history in a pre-concert talk by Sir Nicholas Kenyon.
Chair of Arcangelo and a Distinguished Affiliate Scholar of Pembroke College Cambridge, Nicholas Kenyon with Professor Kirsten Gibson and Julian Forbes will introduce their new illustrated companion book to Arcangelo’s English Baroque Journey, offering new perspectives and the latest research on one of the great periods of our national creativity.
England’s Chapel Royal, in the years before and after Oliver Cromwell’s Republic, nurtured some of the nation’s finest composers.
After attending one of its services in 1662, Samuel Pepys observed ‘musique more full than it was’, referring to a newly-energised era of composition under the restored monarchy, aided by foreign influences and new money.