Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
One of our Resident Orchestras, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment makes old music new. Far from being an attempt to recreate the past, it instead uses historic information to create something that’s exciting now.
Founded in 1986, the orchestra’s name refers to the common term for the explosion of science, philosophy and culture in Western Europe during the 1600s and 1700s, the Age of Enlightenment. It was the time of Isaac Newton and Voltaire, and a quest for liberty. The period also found its voice in music as composers sought more freedom in the way they worked to promote their (often socially subversive) ideas.
In performance, the OAE is a collective that’s about collaboration between brilliant musicians. As the orchestra isn’t led by any one conductor, it gives players the artistic freedom to collectively take on that role. And they do so playing instruments and using techniques from the period in which the music was written. So if they’re performing Bach they do so on the instruments that would have been familiar to the conductor himself.
Upcoming events
The Girl from Arles
Performers
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Sir Mark Elder conductor
cast to be announced
Repertoire
Bizet: L'Arlésienne - melodrama (original version) (Staged production, performed in English)
Christmas Oratorio: Parts 1 – 3
Performers
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Václav Luks conductor
Sofia Kirwan-Baez soprano
Helen Charlston mezzo-soprano
Guy Cutting tenor
Florian Störtz bass
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment
Repertoire
Zelenka: Credo from Missa Omnium Sanctorum, ZWV.21
Bach: Cantata 1 (Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage)
Interval
Bach: Cantata 2 (Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend); Cantata 3 (Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen) from Christmas Oratorio. Performed in German, with surtitles.
Christmas Oratorio: Parts 4 – 6
Performers
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Václav Luks conductor
Sofia Kirwan-Baez soprano
Helen Charlston mezzo-soprano
Guy Cutting tenor
Florian Störtz bass
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment
Repertoire
Zelenka: Statio quadruplex for Processione Theophorica, ZWV 158
Bach: Cantata 4 (Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben)
Interval
Bach: Cantata 5 (Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen); Cantata 6 (Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben) from Christmas Oratorio. Performed in German, with surtitles.
OAE TOTS: A Musical Adventure with Don Quixote
Performers
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Repertoire
Programme to be announced
OAE TOTS at LPO FUNharmonics: The Big Enigma
LPO FUNharmonics: The Big Enigma
Performers
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Wilson Ng conductor
Rachel Leach presenter
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Repertoire
Programme includes: -
Elgar: Excerpts from Enigma Variations
Programme to be announced
A Viennese House Party
Performers
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Matthew Truscott director, violin
Jane Gower bassoon
Repertoire
Mozart: Menuetto (2nd movement) from String Quartet in B flat, K.458 (Hunt); Overture, The Marriage of Figaro
Dittersdorf: Symphony in C (The Four Ages of the World)
Vanhal: Bassoon Concerto in C
Interval
Mozart: Serenade in D, K.239 (Serenata notturna)
Haydn: Symphony No.101 (The Clock)