The Story of Handel’s Water Music

In July 1717 the world’s first daily newspaper “The Courant” reported that King George I had travelled by barge from Whitehall to Chelsea and was accompanied by another barge for the “musick”. There were symphonies composed especially for the occasion by Mr Handel. The story of ‘The Water Music’, one of Handel’s best loved pieces of music follows an interesting and often mysterious path. Peter will tell us all.

Peter Medhurst

Peter Medhurst’s work as singer, pianist and lecturer-recitalist has taken him all over the world and travels in the last few years have included tours of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, as well as mainland Europe.  Closer to home, he has presented events at the King’s Place, the Barbican, St John’s Smith Square, and the Royal Festival Hall on subjects that range from Beethoven String Quartets, Mozart Operas, Vermeer’s Music Lesson, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Golden Age of Vienna, and 18th Century Venetian Art and Music.  

He has also directed presentations at the Wallace Collection, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A, linking the visual arts with the world of 17th & 18th century music making.
He is a familiar face to audiences of music societies, regional theatres and British festivals, as well as to those of arts based organisations such as The Art Fund, The National Trust and the Arts Society.