London Early Opera follow up their debut release with a treasure trove of music by George Frideric Handel, as well as his contemporaries Thomas Arne and John Hebden, centered on the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens – a carnival of music and entertainments that entertained visitors for nearly 200 years. The booklet notes features images and expert commentaries of the Vauxhall Gardens by author David E. Coke and conductor and musicologist Bridget Cunningham.
★★★★★ Revelatory – a superbly performed, thoroughly enjoyable disc – Choir & Organ
A treasure trove… highly recommended – The Northern Echo
Bridget Cunningham’s re-imagining of the first part of a typical evening’s entertainment puts George Frideric centrestage, and sets the scene delectably with the flirtatious bustle of the Sinfonia to Acis and Galatea – BBC Music Magazine
An attractive potpourri… bright, lively sound – The Observer
A perfectly sensible and enjoyable approach to imagining what a typical night at Vauxhall might have sounded like. There is a charming ebba and flow to this hypothetical entertainment – Gramophone
Most decorously sung and played by London Early Opera, conducted by Bridget Cunningham – Financial Times
