As part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of John Milton's birth, spearheaded by Christ's College, and in partnership with the Suffolk Villages Festival, the Cambridge Early Music Concert Series 2008 present this performance of a Handel masterpiece, sometimes known as "Merriment, Melancholy and Moderation". Milton's "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso" provide the text of the first two sections of this secular oratorio, while Handel's regular librettist Charles Jennens completed the set with "Il Moderato". Extolling the pleasures of the English countryside, this rarely-performed work contains some of Handel's most beautiful and memorable music.
There will be a pre-concert talk by Dr Jessica Martin, Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, at 5.00pm in Trinity College Chapel. Admission to the talk is free.