English Masters of the Theater and Court - Lauda Musicam Baroque Orchestra

Lauda Musicam Baroque Orchestra is playing English Masters of the Theater and Court at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church on Sunday, October 24, at 7 PM. The program pulls from 17th- and 18th-century English music, with selections by Henry Purcell, Johann Christoph Pepusch, and George Frideric Handel.

What makes this a period performance is the instrumentation. The orchestra plays on Renaissance and Baroque instruments, so you'll hear recorders, reeds, flutes, and the viola da gamba—the bowed, fretted ancestor of the cello—rather than the modern versions we're used to. The whole thing is framed by the social shift of the era: by the end of the 17th century, a growing middle class was driving the demand for musical and theatrical productions, and the increasing availability of sheet music and instruments in shops was producing a more musically literate society. That shift is exactly what these pieces came out of.

This is one stop in a wider 2026-27 season led by Music Director Jody Miller. The concert is at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, 1790 Lavista Road, Atlanta, GA 30329. There's a suggested donation of $20, and no one is turned away for lack of funds. It starts at 7 PM on Sunday, October 24.