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Apollo's Jukebox

Name: Apollo's Jukebox
Start: 2026-09-24T13:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-09-24T13:00:00+01:00
Location: Malling Abbey

About

Apollo’s Cabinet
Collin Shay - Countertenor
Teresa Wrann - Recorder
Simone Pirri - Violin
Jonatan Bougt - Theorbo, Baroque Guitar
Harry Buckoke - Viola da Gamba
Thomas Pickering - Recorder, Traverso

A musical menu of Baroque delights, ballads and toe-tapping dances

In 1672, violinist John Banister kicked off a real revolution by inviting paying guests into his own home, offering a simple but radical deal: you choose the music, we play it. For a shilling, the audience picked the programme. Forget stuffy concerts with velvet seats and polite applause. Apollo’s Jukebox takes you back to the 18th century music rooms where tunes weren’t just played, they were ordered. You get to choose the music picking from a menu of instrumentals, arias, dances, ballads and broadsides:

Schmelzer: Balletti
J S Bach: Sheep may safely graze, BWV 208 - a serene pastoral blessing, offering a moment of calm amid festive bustle
Handel - Arrival of the Queen of Sheba - a dazzling, regal procession in sound - fit for a royal entrance

J S Bach: Auf meinen Flügeln sollst du schweben, from Cantata “Hercules at the Crossroads”, BWV 213 - familiar christmassy tune but with different mythological text
Handel: Let me wander not unseen, from L’Allegro, HWV 55 - countryside ramblings
Handel: Every Valley shall be exalted, from Messiah, HWV 56 - vocal fireworks promising hope, uplift, and glorious triumph

Purcell - Act Tunes from Various Operas - fast, furious, and full of fancy footwork.
Traditional - Jigs & Reels from the British Isles - a splash of tartan flair—like a brisk walk through the Highlands, but with much better rhythm
Telemann - Les Nations - it’s war between Denmark & Sweden - keep calm and carry on dancing

Corette - La Furstemberg (Allegro) - full of French flair
Graun - Concerto for Recorder and Violin (Allegro) - lively German vibes
Telemann - Concerto for Recorder and Traverso (Largo - Presto) - Polish Peasant revolt
Vivaldi - La Notte (Allegro) - Italian Nightmares

Gay/Pepusch, Weill - The Beggar’s Ballad-Off - it’s 1728. Crime pays - meet Macheath aka Mack the Knife
The Lass of Peaties Mill – Traditional - slow and beautiful
Greensleeves – Traditional - you’ve heard the tune, now hear it as the Tudors meant it.

Purcell - Fairest Isle - an ode to the country that gave birth to all this madness
Mr Kirnberger’s Dice Game - roll the dice and let chance compose the music
The Duke of Norfolk Recorder Battle – Traditional - two recorders square off in a no-holds-barred duel. Who will win this merry musical throwdown?
Purcell - Mini Opera Scenes Favourites from the Fairy Queen