According to philosophy, the story of Creation began with nothing but chaos; four elements - earth, air, fire and water - in contention with each other and in need of being made harmonious: This is the inspiration for Rebel鈥檚 Chaos from Les Elemens. With different groups of instruments representing each of the elements, avant-garde tone clusters and musical ideas vie for attention before order is achieved.
King Arthur was one of Purcell鈥檚 most successful work for the stage - composed with great genius it features great lyricism and harmony well advanced for its time, and here we hear all of the highlights from the opera in a charming suite, conducted by early music specialist Christian Curnyn.
Haydn鈥檚 Missa in Angustiis (Mass for troubled times), better known by its nickname the Nelson Mass, is one of 6 mass settings written near the end of his life, and is arguable his greatest single composition. Taking the text of the Latin Mass, this inimitable masterpieces comprises six movements, and apart from Kyrie, and the richly expressive Agnus Dei, is an overwhelmingly cheerful musical display鈥� perfect for celebrating his employer鈥檚 wife鈥檚 birthday, for which the mass was commissioned!