Academy of Ancient Music
Associate Ensemble
Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is an orchestra with a worldwide reputation for excellence in baroque and classical music.
Using historically informed techniques, period-specific instruments and original sources, AAM brings music vividly to life in committed, vibrant performances under the new and dynamic leadership of Laurence Cummings.
Events
Monteverdi: L’incoronazione di Poppea
Monteverdi’s most sensuous and scandalous opera, performed in concert by Laurence Cummings, Academy of Ancient Music and a stellar cast.
The Art of the Harpsichord
Harpsichordist Alastair Ross plays Bach, Handel, Laschanzky and their contemporaries – celebrating an instrument that liberated the baroque imagination.
Septet: Beethoven & Hummel
Academy of Ancient Music plays Septets by Beethoven and Hummel – giants of the Romantic revolution, relaxing among friends.
Handel: Brockes-Passion
On Good Friday, Academy of Ancient Music rediscovers Handel’s Brockes-Passion – the story of the Crucifixion, retold in music that blazes with emotion.
The Royall Consort
The Royall Consort of King Charles I was at the cutting edge of 17th century music, and today it lives again with Academy of Ancient Music.
JS Bach / Arvo Pärt: Eternal Beauty
Mystery, wonder and sounds to refresh the spirit, as Academy of Ancient Music and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir perform timeless testaments to faith.
1765: Times of Transition
Mozart, Haydn, Telemann and Philidor: four composers in a passionate age, reinventing music on the wing. A dynamic start to a season of music that defies convention.
Academy of Ancient Music: Handel's Serse
Laurence Cummings directs Academy of Ancient Music and a world-class cast in a concert performance of Serse – Handel’s sensational opera of love and power in ancient Persia.
Academy of Ancient Music: Rhythm Across Time
Academy of Ancient Music joins The Wave Quartet in an ingenious, audacious musical voyage across five centuries.
Academy of Ancient Music: The Chosen One
Leipzig’s got talent: in 1723 Bach competed for one of Germany’s top musical jobs. Today, Laurence Cummings and Academy of Ancient Music reveal exactly what he was up against.
Academy of Ancient Music: Gambarini: English Impresaria
Elegance, exuberance, and one remarkable woman: Academy of Ancient Music travels to Georgian London and the lost world of musical innovator Elisabetta da Gambarini.
Academy of Ancient Music: Songs of Love & War
Academy of Ancient Music performs Monteverdi’s genre-defying Madrigals of Love and War. Unrequited passion has never sounded sweeter.
Academy of Ancient Music: Handel's Messiah
Laurence Cummings and Academy of Ancient Music perform Handel’s Messiah – a Christmas tradition that they’ve made their own.
Academy of Ancient Music: Beethoven's Symphony No 5
Struggles, seduction and sparkling wit: Laurence Cummings and AAM play Beethoven, Haydn and Maria Theresia Ahlefeldt.
Academy of Ancient Music: Bach's St John Passion
Laurence Cummings and AAM bring an Easter tradition to life: a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion.
Academy of Ancient Music – Transatlantic: Classical Masters
AAM rediscovers the glorious music of Brazilian composer José Maurício Nunes Garcia – in the company of his heroes Mozart and Haydn.
Academy of Ancient Music: Italian Legacies
Swinging London meets Italian flair, 18th century style. AAM presents Georgian England in the company of Arne, Boyce, Geminiani and Bach. But not the Bach you’re expecting…
Academy of Ancient Music: Handel's Messiah
Laurence Cummings and AAM join a truly world-class team of soloists for a seasonal performance of Handel’s Messiah.
Academy of Ancient Music: Viennese Virtuosity
Musical metamorphoses: Mozart, Haydn and their colleagues come together as AAM celebrates a friendship that transformed music for ever.
Academy of Ancient Music: Actéon and Pygmalion
Charpentier’s Actéon and Rameau’s Pygmalion: two mythological mini-masterpieces of baroque opera, in an exuberant concert performance.
Academy of Ancient Music: Handel's Orlando
Passion, magic and spectacular singing: Iestyn Davies stars alongside Handel expert Laurence Cummings and Academy of Ancient Music in a concert performance of Handel’s epic fantasy opera Orlando.
Academy of Ancient Music: Sons of England
Countertenor Reginald Mobley and AAM explore a different vision of the English baroque: in which the music of Purcell, Handel and Ignatius Sancho redefined the culture of a nation.
Academy of Ancient Music: Le Roi Soleil
The Sun King dances: Academy of Ancient Music and baroque dance experts Mary Collins and Steve Player recreate the sounds and sights of the court of Louis XIV of France.
Academy of Ancient Music: Bach's St Matthew Passion
On Good Friday, AAM returns to a masterpiece that never grows old: Bach’s St Matthew Passion, stripped back to its essentials and performed with absolute commitment.
Discover
Listen: Barbican Essentials - Handel
Our selection of the best of Handel's music.
Composer Focus – Episode 1: George Frideric Handel with Iestyn Davies
Ed Seckerson is joined by countertenor Iestyn Davies to discuss George Frideric Handel, the German-born composer whose prolific portfolio of operas and hits such as the Water Music, and Messiah, won the hearts of the British public.
