What we do

Wondrous Machine takes its name from the bass air in Purcell's Hail! Bright Cecilia but as a metaphor for the process of music making.

It was established to promote Early Music performances, particularly vocal works, and encourage wider awareness.

Past performances include excerpts from John Dowland's First and Second Bookes of Songs and Aires, showcasing the evolution from traditional madrigals to more complex and original pieces grounded in melancholy, as well as songs from Purcell and Danyel.

Venues such as the House of Annetta, a partially restored Huguenot house in Spitalfields, and Wilton's Music Hall, provide an intimate and evocative hosting of sparse and beautiful songs from the seventeeth century.

Next up

Purcell & Dowland:
Love - a Strange Madness
7pm, Thursday 17th October 2024 (sold out)
New date added: 7pm, Thursday 24th October 2024
House of Annetta, Spitalfields

The third and final part of the trilogy - tales of love and madness from the seventeeth century.

Tickets available from eventbrite.

'Strikingly intimate... well-judged story-telling entwined with the haunting, sparse beauty of Purcell and Dowland'