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An Eyewitness Guide to Versailles.

Watch online here

View the program

DrydenEnsemble webReaders: Roberta Maxwell & Paul Hecht

Vita Wallace ~ violin
Jane McKinley ~ oboe
Lisa Terry ~ bass viol
Webb Wiggins ~ harpsichord

This dramatic musical entertainment combines French Baroque music with eyewitness accounts of life at Versailles, featuring actors Roberta Maxwell and Paul Hecht reading from the letters of Élisabeth Charlotte, sister-in-law to Louis XIV, and the memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon, a soldier, diplomat, and diarist. The program gives listeners an idea of daily life at the court.

Named in honor of John Dryden, the English poet laureate whose words inspired Baroque composers including Purcell and Handel, the Dryden Ensemble specializes in performing music of the 17th and 18th centuries on period instruments. A line from Dryden's "Song to St. Cecilia" captures the essence of Baroque music and the ensemble's philosophy: "What Passion cannot Musick raise and quell!"

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

Midtown Concerts sponsors lunchtime performances of music of the 18th century and earlier. Ensembles are chosen by a panel of early music specialists from the metropolitan area.

Time: Thursdays, 1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

Concerts are in person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan, AND live streamed.