BACH – BETTER THAN EVER – THE 2022/3 MANCHESTER BAROQUE PROGRAMME
We are pleased to announce the first full programme of concerts for Manchester Baroque
since the Covid pandemic. It will be our biggest programme yet with eight concerts in
total, six of which will be in Manchester and two in Yorkshire.
We begin our Manchester programme next month with a chamber music concert, ‘Music is
Bach’, at St Ann’s church featuring works by J.S. Bach and his talented sons. On
December 10th we will be back at Manchester Cathedral for a third annual performance of
Handel’s Messiah with Manchester Cathedral Choir, in the cathedral conducted by the
Master of the Choristers, Christopher Stokes.
We start the new year in February with another concert of chamber music at St. Ann’s.
The new development of the year, is the start of an exploration of the treasure trove of
Baroque music from the Henry Watson library. We are very fortunate that Manchester is
now home to a collection of music originally assembled in Rome by Cardinal Ottoboni, the
patron of a young Handel, Corelli and perhaps Vivaldi too. It includes scores of works
scarcely known to modern ears including a unique and very rarely performed version of
Vivaldi‘s famous Four Seasons.
In February we dedicate the first of the series of concerto concerts to this collection. The
concert, ’Manchester‘s Own Spring Flower Collection‘ will explore this repertoire including
a performance of the spring concerto from this version of The Four Seasons.
As last year, we will perform the Bach St John Passion on Good Friday at Manchester
Cathedral. We will finish the season with another of the Music in Manchester 1744/45
concerts. This is a series of reconstructions of Manchester‘s first ever concert season,
based on research led by our artistic director Dr Pauline Nobes.
Tickets for all our Manchester concerts can be found on Eventbrite via our website
www.manchesterbaroque.co.uk.
If you are interested in any aspect of our work, please contact Martyn Shaw our Concerts
and Projects Manager, on 07990 975 446 or email us at Manchesterbaroque@gmail.com. We would be grateful if you could include our concerts in listings, and you can tag our
social media too. These are:
Twitter: @manchesterbaro1
Facebook: Manchester Baroque
Instagram: @manchesterbaroquehistperf
Manchester Baroque – New Season and Concert Dates Released.
