If there is something that can be granted every time that I come to Handel & Hendrix to rehearse - whether it be with Tircis or Grand Siecle - is that we will take one of two minutes to 'play the wall'. It is a common request between us and it is often how we say thank you to the museum visitors that stay and listen to us while we play through new old music. But what is this then, the WALL ?
When you enter the first floor of Handel House in Handel&Hendrix in London keep walking forward and you will find the music room, where the beautiful - ORIGINAL ! - Kirkman harpsichord lives, surrounded of etchings, paintings and prints portraying musicians and people that G. F. Handel might have known throughout his life. Right by the side of the first window on the left and above the harpsichord there is a print that reads The Ladies Lamentation for the Loss of Senesino. The observer/musician is offered a lovely tune in G Major. It has the characteristics of a minuet and it is written for a voice with the accompaniment of a figured bass line - A true joy to play ! But given that it is a Lamentation shouldn't it be ... sadder ? Actually, no ! This etching, made by George Bickham the Younger, an illustration to 'The Musical Entertainer' (1737) is in fact a satire on Italian opera singers and their female admirers. A great opportunity for a good laugh and a delightful little dance. And aren't we lucky that we can, literally, bring the walls alive on this amazing house ?
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