Photo: Handel and Hendrix in London

When we opened the re-created Hendrix flat in 2016, we found that people craved a similarly rich and immersive experience in Handel’s home. Access was very difficult and disorientating for visitors, who arrived at the first floor of Handel’s house via a modern entrance. The Hallelujah Project will change all of that.

Visitors will enter via Handel’s own front door, the Georgian street front of his house having been immaculately restored. Once inside, they’ll be immersed in Handel’s home as it might have been in the 1740s: beautifully lit using sconces and candlesticks, art will adorn the walls in shimmering gilt frames and everywhere there will be signs that Handel himself has just stepped out in the middle of a busy day’s work.

The stories of our two incredible musicians. Visitors will hear about their lives from our volunteers, through interpretation and via a digital visitor guide.

The opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves first in Handel’s 18th century and then Hendrix’s 1960s will be completely unforgettable. Hearing live performances by outstanding musicians – baroque music in Handel’s dining room and rock music in Jimi’s bedroom – will be an incredible experience: hearing music where it was written and first performed.

We’ll be offering a fresh look at both Handel and Hendrix as musicians. In the drawing room, the room in which Handel composed, we’re creating a mixed reality audio-visual installation to explore the writing of Messiah in 1741 to give an insight into how he went about writing music. It will be completely immersive and unlike anything visitors will have experienced before.

Elsewhere, a new exhibition will use sound and film to explore Hendrix’s pioneering and peerless guitar technique and some of his legendary performances. The room will be dressed like a 1960s ‘green room’ and there will be an opportunity for people to share their own memories of seeing Jimi Hendrix or tell us about how he has influenced them as musicians, artists and people.

Our construction partner, Messenger, faces the biggest challenges of this project. It’s a big scheme on a tiny site, with no room for storage of supplies or equipment. I take my hat off to the site manager and team for how they rise to the occasion every day.

What I am most excited about? After 18 months of construction work, I can’t wait to see the house full of staff, volunteers and visitors, while beautiful live music fills the air.

• Handel & Hendrix in London is owned by The Handel House Trust

• The project is being funded by charitable grants and private donations

• Interpretation design is by Outside Studios, AV by Elbow Productions, the construction partner is Messenger and the architect is Peregrine Bryant

• The museum will reopen in May 2023

• Tickets will be £10 for adults and £5 for children

• Dwell time will be one to one-and-a-half hours

• Capacity will be 50 people per hour