Present-day performers have equally been inspired by practices and sound worlds of a given period to bring new insights to repertoires both familiar and unfamiliar.

The open concert is given by the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra with fortepianist Andreas Staier, and looks at musical responses to the literary Sturm und Drang movement in musically- and emotionally- highly-charged pieces including a symphony by W. F. Bach, Mozart’s Fantasie in C minor, Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge and Mendelssohn’s D-minor Concerto for Violin and Fortepiano.

Later that evening is a concert of music from the "Dowland Project", which has seen tenor John Potter exploring the music of Dowland and some of his contemporaries with John Surman on clarinet and bass saxophone. For this concert they are joined by Susanna Pell on bass viol, Stephen Stubbs on lute and Milos Valent on baroque violin and viola. The recordings to emerge from this project have been highly revealing re-explorations of Dowland’s music, making this a very attractive concert.

The Saturday afternoon begins with a concert by Charivari Agreable, comprising Rachel Moss on baroque flute, Susanne Heinrich on pardessus and bass viol, Reiko Ichise on viol, and Kah-Ming Ng on harpsichord and chamber organ. They’ll be performing trio sonatas by Telemann and his most inspired musical godsons: C. P. E. Bach and G. P. Kress.

They are followed by the European Ensemble William Byrd making a welcome return to London with Domenico Scarlatti’s Stabat mater and the Miserere and Lamentations of Joao Rodrigues Esteves, one of Scarlatti’s contemporaries at the court in Lisbon, who’d been sent by King Joao V for a period of study in Rome - both composers bringing an Italian influence into Portuguese music.

A little later is a screening of the film Tous les matins du monde at the nearby National Film Theatre. This film brings together a wealth of literary and musical explorations, centred on the viol players Monsieur de Sainte Colombe and Marin Marais.

The main concert of the evening sees La Serenissima, who have a growing reputation for rich performances of music by Vivaldi, presenting a programme of operatic arias, with soprano Mhairi Lawson, and concertos inspired by literary sources.

The evening ends with gamba-player Frederike Heumann making her London debut with harpsichordist Dirk Boerner and guitarist Evangelina Mascardi, picking up from Tous les matins du monde with a selection of works by Forqueray and Corette, inspired by the music of Marin Marais.

The Sunday afternoon begins with a concert by countertenor Michael Chance and the viol consort Fretwork, mixing songs by Alexander Agricola, who was one of the great song composers of the early Renaissance, and contemporary responses to his music from Fabrice Fitch’s Agricologies.

This is followed by a an illustrated talk on Queen Elizabeth I’s image-maker in poetry, music and painting, Sir Henry Lee, given by Anthony Rooley with soprano Emma Kirkby.

The early evening concert sees the Clerk’s Group in a response to the Roman du Fauvel. The 14th-century original is a satirical poem, inspired by the politics of the time, with music and verse that mocks the ambition and corruption of those in power in medieval France. The Clerk’s Group, with the poet Ian Duhig, has updated this to take a wry look at the politics of the 21st century.

The weekend closes with the Orlando Consort joining forces with Perfect Houseplants for a late-night concert in which medieval music meets contemporary jazz in an inspiring collusion of styles, exploiting the improvisation which is at the heart of both.