As England looked outward to the wider world, music captured the excitement, uncertainty, and upheaval of a changing nation. From the intimate melancholy of John Dowland to the theatrical brilliance of Henry Purcell, this programme traces a century shaped by sea voyages, royal courts, emerging colonies, and the rise of London as an international city. Against a backdrop of political turmoil and cultural transformation, songs of love, longing, power, and pleasure reveal how music reflected England’s journey onto the world stage.

Join Tom and Daniel in the Soane Stable Yard for a series of musical interludes inspired by the rich history of their surroundings, featuring music that evokes the atmosphere and spirit of earlier centuries.

Tom Lilburn – Counter Tenor

Daniel Murphy – Theorbo

Repertoire;

Dowland

• Come Again

• Flow My Tears

• Can She Excuse My Wrongs

• In Darkness Let Me Dwell

Purcell

• Music for a While

• If Music Be the Food of Love

• Sweeter Than Roses

• Strike the Viol

• excerpts from The Fairy Queen or King Arthur