Have you booked for the Beethoven Trios on 11th March? Only a few tickets left – book here.
Nathaniel and La Pompadour at Versailles
We had a totally delighful evening last week with Nathaniel Mander and his charming spinet, La Pompadour – in a programme chosen to showcase La Pompadour’s days of glory at the court of Versailles. So works by famous composers such as Jean Philippe Rameau rubbed shoulders with pieces by Jacques Duphly, Michel Corrette or Claude Balbastre – major celebrities at Versailles though scarcely known today.
And each one introduced by Nathaniel in his own inimitable style – passing on all the gossip of the day! Balbastre, for example, was somewhat of a loud mouthed bully, lording it around the court and then, in 1789, rapidly converting his courtly melodies into revolutionary songs to save his skin! And was it Balbastre (it could have been another harpsichordist – they do not seem to have been a nice bunch) who got his own son exiled because he feared being outshone by him?
Anyhow, here are Nathaniel and La Pompadour with an extract from Balbastre’s La Monmartel.
And here is a tiny extract from Joseph Bodin de Boismortier’s La Puce (The Flea), because I could not resist it, followed by Michel Corrette’s Les Etoiles (The Stars).
And finally, a world premiere! As Nathaniel pointed out, anybody who was anybody at court had a piece of music dedicated to them – except, extraordinarily, Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s official mistress and one of the most powerful people at Versailles. So, to right this historical wrong – and also to celebrate his beautiful spinet named after her – Nathanial has penned them both an ode…..
As a short aside, I would also like to point out that La Pompadour, not to mention her maker, Andrew Garlick and her owner, Nathaniel, are particularly proud of the fine turn of her cabriole legs – and her totally charming golden cloven hooves….
In honour of La Pompadour the kitchen staff had also pulled out all the stops with a Galantine of pheasant, venison, sausagemeat, cavolo nero spiced with currants and port and puréed parsnip – but were so busy taking pictures of La Pompadour’s legs that they forgot to photograph the food!
And I am happy to say that a full house and a generous donation from one ‘regular’ who was unable to join us meant that we could post off nearly £200 to the Camden Music Trust.
London Handel Festival and Mr Handel’s birthday party
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the London Handel Festival is in full swing.
Tonight, 5th March, Opera Settecento offers Titus l’Empereur at St George’s Hanover Square, Saturday sees the semi-final of the International Singing Competition at the Grosvenor Chapel and then, towards the middle of the month, Acis and Galtea with the Gabrieli Consort, more lunchtime concerts at the lovely Charterhouse chapel and, very exciting, the Handel Opera Studios staging of Tamerlano at Shoreditch Town Hall. All details and tickets here.
However, before we get to all of that, last Sunday The Portrait Players who, you may remember, performed for us back in September 2024, invited a group of young enthusiasts to the Handel Hendrix House to celebrate Mr Handel’s birthday. And a great time was had by all. Here are the players with cheerleader Alice clapping along to a merry tavern scene.
And here are two of the children, one with her feather quill pen poised to write the party invitations – and the other with her party hat and floaty scarf all ready for the dance. (Pictures courtesy of Pablo Strong.)
What a great idea, Handel Festival! And the perfect place to stage the party.
And finally….
On Monday evening I was lucky enough to get invited to a pre-recording concert by Madeleine Mitchell and her London Chamber Ensemble of Charles Wood‘s first and fifth string quartets. You may remember that last May LCE played Wood’s Highgate quartet for us at Hampstead Lane.
Any lingering doubts I might have had about Wood’s ability to reach beyond the church music for which he is best known, were finally dissipated. Both quartets were really delighful and I look forward to the CDs in due course.
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