One of Oxford’s newest professional ensembles, The Deitatis Consort and Players present music by Handel, Charpentier, and Carissimi, in three works which display a breath-taking range of expression and power, each bringing the very best of their respective schools and styles to the fore.

Carissimi’s Jephte contrasts jubilant vocal passagework with bargaining, acceptance and mourning, displaying all the brilliance, sparkle and chiaroscuro of the Italian 17^th century. Charpentier’s Reniement de Saint Pierre, by turns, is an astonishing microcosm of Peter’s denial of Jesus, and the resulting guilt and remorse is depicted with earth-shattering harmony, the elegance of French baroque music broken by unimaginable pain. Handel's Dixit Dominus is unashamedly virtuosic for both instrumentalists and singers, and depicts one of the most colourful psalms, one of judgment, justice, victory and lament.

The Deitatis Consort and Players were founded to create a dynamic ensemble capable of facilitating the performance of music across the millennium and into the present day, with a current focus on music of the 17^th century. As a choir, it draws on outstanding singers from across not only Oxford but the country and as an instrumental force, it functions not only in support of the choir but independently, and is commited to period instrumentation and exploration of historical performance practices.

Directed by Luke Mitchell, singers and instrumentalists from the group perform in a range of combinations, having formerly performed a wide range of music in Oxford, and are currently working towards several projects, including reconstruction of Restoration Opera.