This concert features music by the two giants of Baroque music, Bach and Handel.

NZ Barok opens the performance with elegant and spirited instrumental music for strings by Handel, including his Concerto Grosso Op.6 no. 1 in G and incidental music from his opera Il pastor fido (‘the faithful shepherd’). The orchestra will then be joined by violin soloist Lara Hall who will perform Bach’s soulful violin concerto in A minor.

The second half of the concert moves from the world of court instrumental music to the cathedral with Bach’s vibrant Mass in A major BWV 234. The orchestra is joined again by eight superb singers as they were for Vivaldi’s’ Gloria in May 2021:  Jsopranos Jayne Tankersley and Elizabeth Mandeno, altos Jessica Wells and Helen Acheson, tenors Jack Timings and Sid Chand, and basses Chalium Poppy and James Harrison.

NZ Barok thanks Auckland Council – Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau, Perpetual Guardian, Pub Charity, Four Winds Foundation, Dame Jenny Gibbs, Dragon Community Trust, and NZ Barok supporters for their generous support.

Comprising leading baroque specialists from all over New Zealand, NZ Barok performs using instruments and playing styles of the period, breathing fresh life and vitality into baroque and classical masterpieces and lesser-known musical treasures from the 18th century.

Recent Reviews:

“…authentic, classy and spirited performances… I certainly look forward to any future opportunities to hear NZ Barok.” – Tony Ryan, RNZ Concert

“NZ Barok are a revelation… the distinctive sound of their authentic instruments in perfect balance.” – Theatre Review