Welcome to the opening concert of the Reykjavík Early Music Festival 2026. The baroque ensemble Brák and the choir Cantoque Ensemble join forces once again to perform works by Avison and Händel, interwoven with Icelandic folksongs.

The concert opens with a Concerto grosso by the English composer Charles Avison (1709-1770), which he based on a keyboard sonata by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). This is followed by variations on Icelandic folksongs, marrying turf houses and toccatas. The final work on the program is George Frideric Händel’s (1685-1759) setting of Psalm 110, Dixit Dominus, which he composed in his early twenties while staying in Italy, where he became so wildly popular for his works that he was dubbed il caro Sassone - “the dear Saxon.”

Duration: approx. one hour, without interval

Further information on Reykjavík Early Music Festival: https://reykjavikearly.is/