Apollo's Cabinet

"Apollo's Jukebox" - baroque hits, bawdy ballads, dance tunes and a request concert - live from a London pub

In 1672, violinist John Banister sparked a genuine revolution: he invited a paying audience into his living room for the first time, with a simple but transformative promise - you pick the music, we play it. For a shilling, the crowd decided what was performed.

It was the start of a new relationship with music: democratic, direct, close to the people. The idea spread fast, and music moved from palaces into pubs and onto the streets.

At the same time, the voices of ballad singers rang through Covent Garden - poor, loud and always topical. For a penny, you could hear everything about scandals, royal affairs and shipwrecks, set to song at a price almost anyone could afford.

Apollo's Jukebox picks up exactly where that tradition left off. With a musical menu in one hand and a shilling in the other, you'll hear rowdy street songs, lively dances, heartfelt arias and gossip straight from the tabloids of Georgian London. Concert stiffness? None whatsoever.

Instead: good music, good stories - and a good beer afterwards at the barbecue.

The programme? Chosen by the audience!

Collin Shay - countertenor
Teresa Wrann - recorder
Simone Pirri - violin
Harry Buckoke - viola da gamba
Louise Duggan - percussion
Jonatan Bougt - theorbo, guitar
Thomas Pickering - recorders, harpsichord