Florilegium return to Beverley with soprano Rowan Pierce in a suitably celebratory programme of Handel and Bach, including Bach’s lively and elegant Orchestral Suite in C together with an expressive and serene secular cantata for solo soprano and chamber ensemble.
The two works by Handel include a famous aria from his opera L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato where the virtuosic parts for both solo flute and soprano present a homage to nature and its sweet imitation of bird calls. Whilst it is unlikely that Handel ever visited Beverley, John Courtney would certainly have known of his work as his music was deeply integrated into the cultural fabric of Georgian society.