Rachel Podger new album, The Muses Restor'd

12 April 2024

Award-winning Baroque violinist Rachel Podger takes the resurgence of the Arts in England post-1660 as the compelling inspiration for her new album, The Muses Restor’d to be released on 24th May 2024 on Channel Classics. Adopting its title as its theme, Rachel and her vivacious Brecon Baroque take the listener on a journey of captivating violin-led chamber music from Jacobean to Early Georgian England. Ranging from the gentle intimacy of consort idioms to the full-blown instrumental virtuosity of the evolving Baroque period, this album uncovers little known glories of English instrumental music and its influences.

This refined and intimately chiselled chamber music celebrates a rich tradition where the violin joins a plethora of keyboards, lutes, viol and continuo cello reinstating these sonatas, fantasies, suites, grounds and popular tunes to the mainstream of English cultural life of the time. Together with four musicians from Brecon Baroque, Rachel Podger performs works by Handel, Lawes, Blow, Locke, Purcell, Schop, Jenkins, Baltzar and Jones.

The first single is released today, 12th April – Richard Jones: Chamber Airs Op. 2, No. 4 in A minor: Preludio & Allegro and will be followed on 3rd May by the next single Johann Schop: Lachrimae.

‘With the power of imaginative continuo realisation, and the magic of different instrumental combinations, colours and timbres, this oeuvre provides a deeply satisfying kaleidoscope of musical expression over a century of British musical life.’ - Rachel Podger

Rachel has recently returned from performing the opening concert at the inaugural Reykjavik Early Music Festival with Arte Dei Suonatori (celebrating 20 years since their award winning recording of Vivaldi: La Stravaganza), before jetting off again to Canada for her first in-person meetings commencing her tenure as Principal Guest Director with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Choir. Rachel’s live recordings of Haydn Symphonies 43 and 49 with Tafelmusik will be released by the ensemble as an album later this year.

For more information about Rachel, please click here or contact us here.