| Episode | First Broadcast | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20061218 | 1/5. Donald Macleod embarks on his first walk through Handel's London, featuring the composer's home of 36 years and its immediate environs. Beginning at the Handel House Museum on Brook Street, Donald is given a guided tour by its director Sarah Bardwell. He then meets Lewis Foreman at nearby St George's in Hanover Square, the church in which Handel worshipped, played the organ and rented a pew. The final stop is Carlisle Street in Soho and the 18th-century offices of Private Eye magazine, where art director Tony Rushton talks about his passion for former resident J C Smith, Handel's friend and amanuensis. Hallelujah Chorus (Messiah) English Concert and Choir Trevor Pinnock (harpsichord, director) Verdi prati; Mi Lusinga; Sta nell'Ircana (Alcina) Ann Murray (mezzo) Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Charles Mackerras (conductor) Honour and arms scorn such a foe (Samson) Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) Scottish Chamber Orchestra Charles Mackerras (conductor) Fugue in B flat Jennifer Bate (organ) The Triumph of Time and Truth (excerpt) Gillian Fisher (soprano) Charles Brett (countertenor) Stephen Varcoe (bass) London Handel Choir and Orchestra Denys Darlow (conductor). |
| 02 | 20061219 | Donald Macleod traces Handel's royal connections. Starting at Westminster Abbey, he meets organist James O'Donnell to survey Handel's decorative tomb, before being joined once more by Lewis Foreman for a stroll along Whitehall to the historic Banqueting House and Queen Mary's Steps on the River Thames, where the royal party of 1717 departed for the famous performance of the Water Music. The final stop is the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace, for which Handel composed a birthday ode for Queen Anne. Zadok the Priest Choir of Westminster Abbey English Concert Trevor Pinnock (organ) Simon Preston (director) Utrecht Te Deum Choir of St Paul's Cathedral Parley of Instruments John Scott (conductor) Water Music - Suite (excerpts) English Concert Trevor Pinnock (harpsichord/director) Eternal source of light divine (Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne) Robin Blaze (countertenor) Choir of King's College, Cambridge Academy of Ancient Music Stephen Cleobury (conductor). |
| 03 | 20061220 | Donald Macleod and Lewis Foreman explore some fascinating sites along The Strand where Handel conducted his musical business, from visits to publishers to private performances in an enthusiast's attic and a local tavern. The final stop is the museum of the Foundling Hospital, London's first home for abandoned children and Handel's favourite charity. Virtue, truth and innocence (Esther) The Sixteen Harry Christophers (conductor) Concerto grosso in Gm, Op 6 No 6 Concentus Musicus Wien Nikolaus Harnoncourt (director) Sonata in A, Op 1 No 3 Elizabeth Wallfisch (violin) Richard Tunnicliffe (cello) Paul Nicholson (harpsichord) Anthem for the Foundling Hospital (excerpt) Judith Nelson and Emma Kirkby (sopranos) Shirley Minto (contralto) James Bowman (countertenor) Martyn Hill (tenor) David Thomas (bass) Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Academy of Ancient Music Simon Preston (conductor). |
| 04 | 20061221 | Donald Macleod and Lewis Foreman follow the trail of Handel's time working at Cannons for the wealthy Duke of Chandos near Edgware in north London. They visit the church of St Lawrence Whitchurch, an astonishing survival from the baroque era for which Handel wrote a number of works, and the former site of the Duke's huge mansion, now the North London Collegiate School. Chandos Anthem No 11 (Blessed be God) Ensemble William Byrd L'Academie Sainte Cécile Graham O'Reilly (director) Organ Concerto in B flat, Op 7 No 3 Paul Nicholson Brandenburg Consort Roy Goodman (harpsichord/director) Tis done; Heart, the seat of soft delight; Galatea, dry thy tears (Acis and Galatea) Sophie Daneman (soprano) Les Arts Florissants William Christie (director) Chandos Anthem No 6 (As pants the hart for cooling streams) Lynne Dawson (soprano) Ian Partridge (tenor) Michael George (bass) The Sixteen Choir and Orchestra Harry Christophers (conductor). |
| 05 LAST | 20061222 | Donald Macleod follows the composer's footsteps through the city's historic theatreland with writer and broadcaster Roderick Swanston. They traverse the West End in search of the theatres in which Handel's operas were performed, from the former King's Theatre in Haymarket to the former incarnation of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and a long-vanished third opera house at Lincoln's Inn Fields. Cara Sposa (Rinaldo) Rinaldo....David Daniels Giulio Cesare (excerpt) Cleopatre....Barbara Schlick Giulio Cesare....Jennifer Larmore Concerto Cologne René Jacobs (conductor) Serse (excerpt) Serse....Carolyn Watkinson Le Grand Ecurie et la Chambre de Roy Jean-Claude Malgoire (conductor) Deidamia (excerpt) Nerea....Dominique Labelle Fenice....Furio Zanasi Licomede....Antonio Abete Ulisse....Anna Bonitatibus Deidama....Simone Kermes Choir and Orchestra of Il Complesso Barocco Alan Curtis (conductor). |