Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Candlelight

A one-hour candlelit programme at St Giles in the Fields, pairing Handel's Overture to Messiah with Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. The concert is presented by Candlelight Concerts.

The evening opens with the overture from Handel's Messiah, a stately piece with dramatic contrasts that is widely associated with the Christmas season. The programme closes with Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, a set of four violin concertos that is among the most familiar works in the classical repertoire.

Each of the four concertos depicts one season, guided by accompanying poems that may have been written by Vivaldi himself, and drawn from the seasonal landscapes of the painter Marco Ricci. The music portrays birdsong and buzzing flies, harvest celebrations, barking dogs, summer storms and winter ice.

The concert takes place at St Giles in the Fields, a central London venue at 60 St Giles High Street that mainly hosts candlelit concerts. The programme suits both listeners familiar with classical music and those coming to it for the first time.