Queen Victoria’s 200th birthday falls on May 24th this year, and Prince Albert’s on August 26th. As part of their festival to celebrate this double bicentenary the Ridgeway Ensemble present ‘Victoria and Albert – a musical romance’
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s mutual passion for music was at the heart of their relationship from the very beginning. An accomplished composer, Albert shared his creative process in letters to the young queen, and as their married life progressed, it was punctuated by concerts, private performances and audiences with the musical elite of Europe.
The Ridgeway Ensemble bring to life the musical world of the royal couple, punctuated by readings from their letters and diaries, and contemporary accounts of meetings with composers such as Mendelssohn, Viardot and Clara and Robert Schumann. At the heart of the programme are songs originally composed by Prince Albert for voice, cello and piano, which have remained unpublished and unperformed until now.
The programme reflects the tastes and musical achievements of Victoria and Albert, including music by Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Bellini, Elgar and Sullivan, opening a window onto the musical life of Victorian England.