The man that hath no music in himself, / Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, / Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; / The motions of his spirit are dull as night, / And his affections dark as Erebus. / Let no such man be trusted.
William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice (c1596)

Shakespeare captures the magical and theatrical elements of melody, with music complementing prose in many of his plays. Our concert journeys through the Baroque period to discover the power, passion and pathos of music, building on the Bard’s inspiration that we should be “moved with concord of sweet sounds”.