The Madness of Love - music from the London Restoration Theatre

Delightful music from the London stage of the late 1600s and early 1700s after the theatres reopened following the accession of King Charles ll. Linden Baroque Orchestra, under the direction of the Theresa Caudle, will play instrumental music, and the acclaimed soprano Philippa Hyde will join them in songs from works by Purcell (the Fairy Queen and Abdelazar), John Eccles (The Tempest, Don Quixote, The Mad Lover and The Judgement of Paris) and John Weldon (also The Judgement of Paris - a competition piece of the period with a libretto by William Congreve).

The music is a colourful and varied exploration of love in all its guises with 'Dido's lament' contrasting with other songs such as 'I burn, I burn' a mad song from Don Quixote, 'Cease Cupid to complain' from The Mad Lover, 'If love's a sweet passion' from The Fairy Queen. Instrumental music from the same works is interspersed in a lovely spring-time programme 'when all passion is aflame'.