The combination of Dryden’s poetry and Handel’s music is a winning one. Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day delighted audiences at its première in 1739, showcasing, as it does, Soprano and Tenor soloists, and a virtuosic orchestra. Mayfield Baroque returns to St Dunstan’s, as do the glittering young singers Sofía Kirwan-Baez and Francis Melville. Dryden’s text cites trumpet, flute, organ, and violins, and Handel responds with a dazzling composition in praise of the patron saint of music. Never mind that Cecilia’s martyrdom in a steam room has been wrongly appropriated (steam is fed through pipes and organs have pipes): music needs a patron saint, and since the medieval period that role has fallen to St Cecilia.

This concert pairs Handel’s Cecilian Ode with a Mass setting by the Venetian Baroque composer Antonio Lotti. The St. Christopher Mass has become famous because of its outstanding ‘Crucifixus’ section at its centre. The instruments drop out and the choir branches out into eight parts to sing one of the most sublime few minutes of choral music from any era. This performance places Lotti’s Crucifixus within the whole Mass setting – a rare event. Join us in Mayfield for this unmissable musical feast on the Sunday before St. Cecilia’s Day.