Concert to mark 300th anniversary of Treaty celebrations

A concert with deep roots in the University of Oxford is to take place in the Sheldonian Theatre tomorrow (Thursday 14 November).

The Faculty of Music is welcoming back the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Contrapunctus in a programme specifically designed for the venue.

This year is the tercentenary of the Treaty of Utrecht, which marked the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. The event – a momentous one for the whole of Europe – was celebrated in England at thanksgiving services in St Paul's Cathedral and in Oxford, where the peace was marked by a concert in the Sheldonian on 10 July 1713.

The performance was part of the Oxford Act – a ceremony of which the surviving element is Encaenia – and showcased the work of William Croft, written specially for the occasion and neglected since.

Croft's compositions will be performed tomorrow evening alongside Handel's famous Utrecht Te Deum and Ode on the Birthday of Queen Anne. The concert, directed by Dr Owen Rees, University lecturer in music and fellow, tutor and organist at The Queen's College, provides a rare opportunity to hear Croft's music in the space in which it was first performed 300 years ago.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Contrapunctus will be joined by the Choir of The Queen's College, with the concert starting at 7.30pm. It will be preceded at 6.30pm by a talk, free to ticket holders, given by Professor Susan Wollenberg, University lecturer in music and fellow and tutor at Lady Margaret Hall.

Tickets for the event are still available here.