Today’s programme takes us back to the the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, with music from the time of novelist Jane Austen (1775–1817) and the painter (Thomas) Gainsborough (1728–1788) — in other words, music that takes us from the late Baroque to the early Classical period.
However, we have tried to keep away from some of the more obvious choices from this period: there’s little J S Bach in the programme today for example, although there are some pieces from Johann Christian Bach, his youngest son; and we’ve omitted the more obvious works of Handel. There are works by Purcell, including the original piece that formed the inspiration for Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, the Rondeau from Abdelazar; songs and concerti by Boyce and Arne; and some composers you may not have heard of, such as the younger and elder Linleys, Dibdin, and the Earl of Abingdon, the works of whom were included in Jane Austen’s personal music collection, and in some cases were friends, acquaintances and subjects of Gainsborough’s paintings.