Handel Week Festival

Concert 1 - Sing and Play in Dulcet Tone: The Intimate Handel

Sunday, February 9th, 2020
3pm

Our first concert will be our chamber concert featuring Soprano, Mezzo, two Violins and Basso Continuo. We are exceptionally proud of our chamber concerts that offer music that is often almost impossible to find anywhere. This first offering will be available during the month of January, 2021 and features the dynamic artistry of Amy Conn, Julia Bentley, Thomas Yang, Jeri-Lou Zike, Richard Yeo and Dennis Northway. It will feature the virtuoso duet Fronda leggiera e mobile H.W.V. 186, the trio in G minor for two violins and basso continuo H.W.V. 387, the Alto solo cantata Lungi n'andò fileno H.W.V. 128b, three German songs and a lovely dialogue cantata for Soprano, Mezzo, 2 Violins and basso continuo Amarilli Vezzosa H.W.V. 82. Much of this music is impossible to find anywhere else! These concerts have never been available for personal listening, so this is a rare opportunity!
Concert 2 - Music for Royal Fireworks and Water Music

Saturday, February 22nd, 2020
7:30pm

Nothing says Handel more clearly than his Music for Royal Fireworks and Water Music! This is perfect music to uplift one's spirits, or play as background music for in-home projects or dinner parties! Own a complete performance of these treasured compositions! This is a golden opportunity to hear a virtuoso ensemble present perfect music! These performances, from two different previous seasons, will be delivered to our audience's door in any format they chose (CD, .mp3, download or dropbox) during February, 2021
Concert 3 - Sing and Play in Dulcet Tone: The Intimate Handel Music for Mezzo, Harpsichord, Flute and Basso Continuo

Sunday, March 1st, 2020
3pm

Our third concert offering is a stunning chamber concert by jewel-voiced Countertenor Jake Barlow, along with Richard Yeo, Cello, Marcia Hustad, Flute and Virtuoso Keyboardist Erik Liefrinck of cantatas of Handel music for Flute and Harpsichord. It includes the dulcet Mezzo cantata Siete rose rugiadose H.W. V. 162, the flute sonata in e minor H.W.V. 379, the F minor harpsichord suite H.W.V. 433, the solo cantata Vedendo amor H.W.V. 175 and the powerful Chaconne in G major H.W.V. 435. They will arrive with full translations and artist biographies along with information on the date of the performance. These very rare cantatas are hard, if not impossible, to find! They will be delivered to our subscriber’s door or inbox by March, 2021. They will be a treat to your ears!

From the Director

Handel Week 2021 Season Overview:
EXCITING MUSIC IN DIFFICULT TIMES!

What a difference a year makes! Welcome to Handel Week Festival’s 2021, 22nd festival Season! We are delighted you are reading this! This is a tough time, but music is perhaps more important than ever in times like these! As this is a season of Pandemic, our season will be different than any other year; nonetheless we hope you will join us!

This year each concert will be offered electronically in any format that you might chose (CD, .mp3, download or dropbox). Because we value deeply our fine musicians who have given us such fine music over the decades, please know your support will go to them to compensate them for their artistry. Our first concert will be our chamber concert featuring Soprano, Mezzo, two Violins and Basso Continuo. We are exceptionally proud of our chamber concerts that offer music that is often almost impossible to find anywhere. This first offering will be available during the month of January, 2021 and features the dynamic artistry of Amy Conn, Julia Bentley, Thomas Yang, Jeri-Lou Zike, Richard Yeo and Dennis Northway. These concerts have never been available for personal listening, so this is a rare opportunity!

The second offering will be Handel’s Music for Royal Fireworks and Water Music – truly some of Handel’s most wonderful and popular music. You can own our thrilling and dynamic performances of these two monuments of music! These performances, from previous seasons, will be delivered to your door in any format you chose (CD, .mp3, download or dropbox) during February, 2021. This is perfect music to uplift one’s spirits, or play as background music for in-home projects or dinner parties!

Our third is a stunning chamber concert by Countertenor Jake Barlow, along with Richard Yeo, Cello, Marcia Hustad, Flute and Virtuoso Keyboardist Erik Liefrinck of cantatas of Handel music for Flute and Harpsichord. They will arrive with full translations and artist biographies along with information on the date of the performance. These very rare cantatas are hard, if not impossible, to find! They will be delivered to our subscriber’s door or inbox by March, 2021. They will be a treat to your ears!

We are excited to present this music to you, our dedicated audience! We also look forward to greeting you in person next season!

Cordially,
Dennis E. Northway, Artistic Director

Who We Are

The Handel Week Festival is an annual week-long festival to celebrate the music of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The Festival is currently held in the spring of each year at Pilgrim Church in Oak Park and was begun at Grace Episcopal Church, in Oak Park, Illinois. It was begun in 2000, patterned after the highly successful Bach Week Festival in Evanston. Founders Dr. Dennis E. Northway and Charles Chauncey Wells believed that the works of this great master would be as enthusiastically received as Bach Week's 4 decades of success.

Handel Week Festival is a production of Handel Week Incorporated, an Illinois non-profit corporation devoted to popularizing and promoting the music of Handel. It encourages musicians and various media venues to play his works and supports activities pertaining to Handel both in Chicagoland and throughout the world. Handel Week Incorporated is a not-for-profit corporation under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.