"This is more than the art of singing, this is a way of life" - wrote the Hamburger Abendblatt (€) on our Purcell Pageant following our performances on 26 October at the Laeiszhalle. We are immensely grateful we made it to Hamburg during this difficult time, and just before Germany announced stricter regulations affecting concert halls, which have to remain closed for the whole month of November.

​It was truly wonderful to be back on stage together and we like to thank our promoter for making this possible. The good news is that our performance was part of the early music series 'Das Alte Werk', meaning it was recorded by the NDR Radio for deferred broadcast. 

This is the fitting encore by which we thanked our audiences at the Laeiszhalle: Telemann's 1762 Hamburg setting of Luther's 'Mitten wir im Leben sind mit dem Tod umfangen' (In the midst of life we are in death).

In October, we firmly hope to get back on track for our debut at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg on Monday 26th. We’re keen to take Hamburg audiences into the fantasy world of Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' with its fairies and sleepy lovers by presenting highlights from Purcell's Fairy Queen. We'll also perform extracts from King Arthur and other, lesser-known vocal gems from Purcell's secular output. All in a subtly dramatised concert under the expert guidance of Globe Theatre director, Federay Holmes. This concert is part of the famous early music series Das Alte Werk and is intended to be recorded for deferred broadcast by NDR Radio (Norddeutsche Rundfunk).

In anticipation of our Hamburg debut, Jonathan Sells has been chatting to the head of programming for the series, Cathérine Dörücü: