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ENSEMBLE INFO

Ensemble Contact:

Email:

martynshaw@manchesterbaroque.co.uk

2019

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Majesty and Fireworks is a concert project bringing together Manchester Baroque and the University of York’s senior chamber choir, The 24, conducted by Robert Hollingworth. Building on the success of our 2025 Bach Mass in B minor collaboration, this 2026 project represents a more ambitious partnership in scale, repertoire and geographical reach. The programme will tour to the University of York, Sedbergh Festival (Lake District) and the Stour Festival, with these performances secured through partner fees and local fundraising. This application seeks support specifically to enable the project to return to Manchester Baroque’s home audience, bringing together the ensemble’s artistic, educational and early-career activity in a self-promoted performance at Hallé St Peter’s, Manchester on Friday 29th May 2026, for an expected audience of approximately 200.

The programme focuses on Handel’s ceremonial and royal music, exploring how music functioned in public, political and celebratory contexts across his career. Handel’s Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (c.1713), written shortly before the Queen’s death, reflects a mood of renewal and optimism, celebrating royal patronage in the aftermath of the Treaty of Utrecht. The Four Coronation Anthems (1727), written for the coronation of George II, exemplify Handel’s enduring role in British ceremonial life and include Zadok the Priest, performed at every coronation since. Arias from Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (1707) and the rarely heard opera Fernando (1732) place these ceremonial works within their wider theatrical context, illustrating the rhetorical foundations of Handel’s ceremonial style. Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749) brings the programme into the public sphere, completing a portrait of how Handel’s music served monarchy, ceremony and, ultimately, the wider public.

Joining Manchester Baroque and The 24 are soloists Emily Vine (soprano), Martha McLorinan (mezzo-soprano) and Frederick Long (tenor). The project offers a significant professional platform for Manchester Baroque’s Early Career Fellows, who will rehearse and perform in all elements of the project. It also helps to support the development of music students from the University of York.

Alongside the concert, the project extends to Greater Manchester communities through performances and interactive workshops led by the Fellows. These will include Rochdale, consistently ranked among the most deprived local authorities in England and an Arts Council England Priority Place. Through cross-arts workshops and school assemblies, approximately 300 primary-age pupils will engage with Music for the Royal Fireworks, exploring music through listening, movement and creative response, while Fellows develop skills in leadership and participatory delivery.

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