Sarah Gabriel and Nathaniel Mander (harpsichord) have already given concerts together in France and England. 2012 will see the launch of their new duo, Fete Galante, celebrating the elegant, elaborate, intimate music of early 18th century Europe.

Their first programme, Un Projet d’Amour, to be performed in the spring, includes rarely-heard gems by French composers Rameau, Mondonville, Duphly and Foucquet, some neglected English airs and a few of Handel’s most romantic arias from Rodelinda, Orlando and Alcina.

Other projects in 2012 include a soprano and fortepiano recital of songs by Mozart and Haydn, and an orchestral programme to include Mozart’s glorious concert aria for soprano, piano and orchestra, ‘Ch’io mi scordi di te’, conducted by Louis Mander.

In 1938, Adolf Ziegler curated an exhibition in Düsseldorf of ’Entartetemusik’: ‘degenerate music’ which was proclaimed to be the cause of the ‘decay’ of the music of the age. Not only was the work of contemporary composers such as Weill, Berg, Schoenberg, Hindemith and Stravinsky condemned, but also Jewish composers of the past such as Mendelssohn and Mahler.

Sarah will shortly announce recital programmes for the 2012 season which will follow the lives and music of ‘degenerate’ composers – those who were overcome by the Nazi regime and those who somehow managed to escape and continue their work.

Sarah Gabriel and Joseph Atkins are currently collaborating on Joe’s first opera – a dramatic monologue for soprano.

Songs and song cycles composed by Joe and premiered by Sarah include Notes on a City, Notes on Love, It was only the angels who sang, Cry Apples and Sonnet 113.

Joseph studied at New College, Oxford and the Royal Academy of Music. He composed the scores for Mud Sweat and Tractors: the Story of Agriculture (BBC2, nominated for a Grierson National Documentary Award) and Shooting the War (BBC4).

Concert works include Notes on Love (premiered at St John’s, Smith Square), It was only the Angels who Sang (St Martin-in-the-Fields), Sonnet 113 (St George’s Bristol), Mirroring the Voice (International Voice Association’s Annual Conference 2005 and the Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall) and Cry Apples (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon), pieces for the Spitalfields Festival, COMA London and the New Cambridge Singers plus orchestrations for the opening of the refurbished Colston Hall in Bristol conducted by Charles Hazelwood. He is currently composing a new piece for the BBC Elstree Concert Band’s 25th Anniversary Concert.

Joseph’s credits as Musical Director and accompanist include the European premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Me and Juliet (Finborough Theatre) and workshop productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre plus cabaret appearances at The Pheasantry, Chelsea and Pizza on the Park.

Sarah Gabriel and pianist and presenter Dominic Harlan give concerts together in which they introduce songs and opera from across the world to audiences of all ages.

Dominic’s extensive experience includes projects for English National Opera, Wigmore Hall, English Touring Opera, Opera North, Garsington, Streetwise Opera and Glyndebourne.

Sarah and Dominic’s performances together include a sell-out concert for Leeds Lieder Festival as part of the International Concert Series and a performance of Dominic’s show, ‘When yesterday we met’ at the groundbreaking Tête à Tête opera festival at the Riverside Studios in London.

They have also worked with Glyndebourne to present their Operaland project for people who are discovering opera. Their online introduction to Puccini’s La Boheme was released in the summer of 2011.

Sarah Gabriel and Will Vann performed together most recently at The Forge in Camden for WildKat PR’s Young Artist Showcase, with ‘Some ways to say I love you’, a programme of very short love songs by Ravel, Poulenc, Debussy, Schubert, Arlen, Copland and Rachmaninoff.

Sarah and Will’s projects for the 2010-2011 season have included ‘The Very Air of England‘, a recital of English songs and chamber music with the violinist Katerina Mitchell, including works by Finzi, Quilter, Gurney, Vaughan Williams and Bliss. They first performed this programme for the Finzi Trust‘s inaugural Finzi Circle concert at the 1901 Arts Club, London, where they also gave the world premiere of Christian Alexander’s specially-commissioned cycle for soprano, violin and piano, Night Song.

Will and Sarah have also given their programme ‘Dusk till Dawn’ at the 1901 Arts Club and St. Stephen’s Festival at Gloucester Road, London, with repertoire ranging from Schubert to Schoenberg’s Op. 2 songs.

photos: Nic Tucker

Salon Tuesdays are occasional evenings of beautiful music performed in intimate venues. Matching the era of the location to the music the first series featured baroque programmes in the candlelit drawing room of The Georgian Group, Fitzroy Square, London. By popular demand, Salon Tuesdays returns to The Georgian Group for Season II.

Established by countertenor Oliver Gerrish and soprano Sarah Gabriel in 2010, Salon Tuesdays are undoubtedly one of London’s best-kept musical secrets with the first series selling out rapidly.

THEMES FOR 2012 will include

Marriage à la Mode- a celebration of the operatic nuptials, filled with the love duets sung by Handel’s operatic Kings and Queens

PAST CONCERTS 2011-2012 Season

Tuesday 13th December: A Georgian Christmas
Sarah Gabriel (soprano), Oliver Gerrish (countertenor), Ben Fleetwood Smyth (tenor) and Matthew Altham (baritone) accompanied at the harpsichord and chamber organ by Nathaniel Mander, performing the most beautiful Christmas music and readings from the Georgian era, including rare carols and chamber performances of extracts from Handel’s Messiah.

Tuesday 22nd November: Unsung Opera
Beautiful and rarely-heard arias by Lotti and other 18th century composers (some not performed since their first outings in the 18th century) recently unearthed by Sarah Gabriel and also Ben Byram-Wigfield of Ancient Groove.

Tuesday 5th July: Gods and Monsters
Handel arias with Sarah Gabriel, soprano and Oliver Gerrish, countertenor

PAST CONCERTS from the sell-out Salon Tuesdays 2010-2011 Season I:

A brand new, exquisitely beautiful semi-staged miniature production of Handel’s Semele from the intrepid new company, Opera In Space.

Tickets: £20 (including a glass of prosecco) available from The Georgian Group.
Tel: 087 1750 2936
Online booking: www.georgiangroup.org.uk
The Georgian Group, 6 Fitzroy Square, London W1T 5DX (nearest tube: Warren Street)