BASSENTHWAITE Festival of Baroque is staged this weekend with another annual feast of lively and tuneful music from the glorious 1600-1750 era.

After a long absence from the festival programmes, the wonderful music of Henry Purcell (1659-1695) makes a welcome return opening the gathering tomorrow (Friday, May 29, 7.30pm) evening at St John’s Church, Bassenthwaite, with the voices and strings of Ensemble Buxtehude performing his famous opera Dido and Aeneas. A tragic love story told through some of Purcell's most beautiful writing, the piece ranges from playful airs and the menacing witches and thunderstorm scenes, to Dido's heart-breaking lament and the tender chorus of mourners.

Saturday lunchtime (12.30pm) the music switches to St Bega's Church which provides the perfect setting for a recital of charming sonatas for cello and harpsichord by Vivaldi, Geminiani (a pupil of Alessandro Scarlatti) and Salvatore Lanzetti.

Meanwhile, Saturday evening (7.30pm) again at the 10th Century lakeshore St Bega's, there's more music for solo voices, strings and continuo by Purcell and his contemporaries.

Ensemble Buxtehude is a group of well-established instrumentalists and singers from across Cumbria and beyond, directed by David Gibbs who, from 2002-2005, was assistant organist at Carlisle Cathedral and musical director of Cockermouth Harmonic Society; he also directed the Cathedral Youth Choir. David now teaches music in Cambridgeshire. The ensemble features violinist, Julian Cann; viola player Sally Bell; cellist, Ed Pendrous; sopranos, Philippa Dodd, Barbara Gibson, Julie Leavett, Patricia Rees-Jones and Fiona Weakley; altos, Michael Deakin and Anne-Marie Kerr; Jerry King, tenor; Ian Wright, violinist and tenor; and bass voices Paul im Thurn, Jonathan Millican and David Rees-Jones.

A festival pass is available for all concerts.

Tickets are available at the door, by emailing info@bassfest.org.uk or by telephone on 07849-383727.