"Then I play'd upon the Harpsichord": our new project supported by the Continuo Foundation!

We're overjoyed to announce that we have received a grant from the Continuo Foundation for our new project, "Then I play'd upon a Harpsichord", devised for an expanded ensemble and a soprano - which will recreate a musical evening with Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. Charlotte was an enthusiastic harpsichordist, and an important patron of the arts in her own right: she invited many of the period's most well-known musical names to 'jam' with her and the King in her apartments at Buckingham House and at Windsor Castle. We'll perform music by her favourite musicians in a relaxed, informal, tea-party vibe, enlivened by readings from Queen Charlotte's own diary.

This project is also part-funded by a Georgian Papers Fellowship awarded to our recorder player Mary-Jannet Leith through BSECS (The British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies) and the Georgian Papers programme. She was inspired by research undertaken during her recent PhD placement at the British Library Music Collections, where she explored the provenance of parts of the Royal Music Library.

Dates and venues to be confirmed very soon!