Period music to evoke lost era in stately home setting

Classical music will be performed on period instruments in the historic house's picture gallery – a room that would have traditionally hosted such an elegant event.

The event celebrates the 18th and 19th century leisure activities that Yorkshire's elite young ladies and gentlemen would have attended in order to see and be seen.

Music brought these events to life and provided a wealth of opportunity for composers and musicians to express their creativity.

Music and songs, some of which were specifically composed for Temple Newsam, feature in Thursday night's programme – interspersed with stories of individuals and families of the time.

Bobbie Robertson, Leeds City Council's principal keeper at Temple Newsam House said: "This concert will evoke ghosts of the past by recreating the vibrant atmosphere of these fashionable public entertainments through music 18th and 19th century Yorkshire aristocrats would have listened and danced to."

The concert – Music in the Pleasure Gardens, Opera and Concert Halls – includes songs and music from the 18th century by composers such as Arne, Boyce and Chilcot alongside viola da gamba solos by Abel, a sonata for cello and keyboard by Geminiani, German arias for voice, violin, cello and keyboard by Handel and opera arias and duets by Mozart, Bellini, Verdi and Donizetti.

The performers include Jane Troughton, a music historian and soprano who has both sung with choirs and as a soloist during her career, pianist Mark Hutchinson and cellist Sam Stadlen.