The award-winning baroque music ensemble La Serenissima present a unique festival this summer in the elegant surroundings of Hintlesham Hall, which brings together the music and history of England, Vienna and Venice in the early 18th century. This elegant house was rebuilt in the 1570s as the home of the Timperleys, a family of Catholic gentry.

A century later, in the shadow of the Glorious Revolution, the widow of a young Henry Timperley, (Susannah, née Sparrow), married the son of an Italian violinist and left Suffolk for London and Vienna. Her new husband, Nicola Matteis the Younger, became an accomplished violinist and composer, who crossed paths with Purcell and Vivaldi during a varied career. We will enjoy three private concerts which trace their fascinating journey through mussic by Purcell and Vivaldi as well as John Blow, Giorgio Gentili and, of course, Nicola Matteis the Younger.

Suffolk is also the birthplace of some of Britain’s greatest artists, from Constable and Gainsborough to Sir Alfred Munnings and of course, Benjamin Britten. We shall visit Britten's Red House in Aldeburgh, Munnings’ former home and studio in Dedham Vale, and Gainsborough's House in Sudbury, transformed by a recent redevelopment into a landmark art gallery: the exhibition this summer celebrates the colourful art of Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines, who were inspired by the same Suffolk countryside. whose house we will visit, having recently reopened after redevelopment as a National Centre for Art dedicated to his life and work.