Linden Baroque Orchestra

Alfred! - a masque by Thomas Arne.

This lovely work, dating from 1753, is full of sparkling and tuneful music and is best known for 'Rule Brittania'.

It was first performed as a masque at Cliveden in 1740 to celebrate the 3rd birthday of Princess Augusta, the daughter of the rather naughty Prince of Wales, Frederick.

Hugely popular at the time, it became known to the public in many formats; opera, serenata and oratorio. It was conceived as a deeply patriotic allegorical work, a stirring tale of Anglo-Saxon warfare and bucolic love.

It is imaginatively scored for oboes, bassoons, flutes, horns, trumpets and drums. Arne fought against the prevailing fashion for all things foreign, arguing for an English artistic form of expression.