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Kate Molleson invites us to 18th-century London's classiest al fresco venue for an explosive premiere.

When he arrived in London in 1712, German-born George Frideric Handel was already one of Europe’s most exciting musical minds. Over the next decades he would not only carve a living for himself, but transform British musical life, from the opera stage to the choir stalls – and hardwire his legacy into our culture. All this week, Kate Molleson tells the stories of five summer soirees from across his life in the British Isles – golden evenings of 18th-century music making and some of his most eventful performances.

Today, we go through the turnstile of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, the most popular outdoor venue in London. Amidst the glades, grottoes and supper boxes, Handel’s so famous around here that there’s even a statue of him. We follow him as he runs between performances, and hear how his latest work would cause a three-hour traffic jam on London Bridge.

Music for the Royal Fireworks: VI. Menuet II
Tafelmusik
Jeanne Lamon, conductor

Hornpipe compos’d for Vauxhall
London Early Opera
Bridget Cunningham, conductor

Acis and Galatea: Hush ye pretty warbling quire
Sophie Daneman, soprano
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, conductor

Semele: Where’er you walk
Allan Clayton
The Mozartists
Ian Page, conductor

Concerto Grosso in F major, Op 3 No 4b
Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin
Georg Kallweit, conductor

Zadok the Priest
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Stephen Cleobury, conductor

Music for the Royal Fireworks (selection)
Tafelmusik
Jeanne Lamon, conductor

Produced by Amelia Parker for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Audio Wales and West