Rachel Podger

“To the woods, to the vales, to the caves, worship such a beautiful night!” From angels singing to confused shepherds, to the devil “shooting up in the air like a rocket!” – the internationally renowned vocal ensemble I Fagiolini brings an animated cast of Christmas characters to life in foot-tapping music from Italy, Germany and Spain. Across the evening a hypnotic Neapolitan tarantula dance will ward off Lucifer, while from Salamanca, a villancico for voices, strings and percussion bring the “the Devil down in flames!” At the other end of the scale Bach paints Advent knocking on the door of Christ’s arrival, and Monteverdi’s much-loved ‘Beatus vir’ gives a taste of Christmas Vespers. This programme is made particularly captivating by the ever-innovative I Fagiolini’s theatrical flair, and the playing of baroque violinist Rachel Podger’s Brecon Baroque, a group of some of the world’s finest period-instrument specialists.