At the Bridging Europe festival’s Baroque concert you can laugh together with Don Quixote, have a crazy dance with the Festival Orchestra and feel the rays of Mediterranean sun kiss your skin through the notes of music. British conductor Jonathan Cohen, endowed with an exceptional musical intelligence, will be directing the BFO’s baroque ensemble twice this season. The first occasion will take place among the ‘crazed atmosphere of Spain’. This concert will include Geminiani’s composition La Folia; originally an upbeat, fast and passionate fertility dance, over time the folia has became a real bridge between cultures. Over one hundred and fifty composers have employed this motif, which has thus found its place in the cultures of Spain, Italy, Britain, Germany and even Scandinavia.
The title of Durante’s concerto ‘La Pazzia’ can also be translated as ‘madness’. Durante, an Italian composer who almost exclusively wrote sacred music, worked in Naples during the time of Spanish occupation.
It’s through the protagonist that Telemann’s suite relates to Spanish culture. The unbelievably productive German composer, who wrote more pieces of music than Bach and Händel combined, paid respect to the greatness of Cervantes by setting Don Quijote’s story to music. From this burlesque, expect a healthy dose of humour, wit, and the highest degree of musical storytelling.
A kivételes zenei intelligenciájú brit karmester, Jonathan Cohen az évad során kétszer vezeti a BFZ barokk együttesét – először „őrült spanyol” hangulatban. Hallhatjuk Geminiani kompozícióját, a La Folliát; a folia eredetileg egy őrülten izgatott, gyors és szenvedélyes termékenységi tánc volt, majd valódi kultúrák közötti híddá nőtte ki magát. Több mint százötven zeneszerző használta ezt a motívumot: a spanyol, az olasz, a brit, a német, sőt a skandináv kultúrában is utat talált magának.
Szintén őrületként fordíthatjuk Durante La Pazzia című versenyművének címét. Az olasz szerző, aki szinte csak egyházi zenét írt, Alessandro Scarlattihoz hasonlóan Nápolyban alkotott a spanyol hódoltság idején – ekkor született a koncerten elhangzó darabja is.
Telemann szvitje főhősén keresztül kapcsolódik a spanyol kultúrához. A hihetetlenül termékeny német zeneszerző, aki több művet írt, mint Bach és Händel együtt, Don Quijote történetének megkomponálásával tisztelgett Cervantes nagysága előtt. Amit várhatunk a burleszktől: humor, jókedv és a zenei történetmesélés legmagasabb foka.
The second half of the concert is filled with musical delights. Domenico Scarlatti was an eminent harpsichordist who composed pieces predominantly for this instrument in the seclusion of the Spanish court. His gripping music captivated audiences instantly, as you will experience through his short but majestic introduction (sinfonia) in the overture for the second half, in which a harpsichord and a lute are added to the strings.
Like Scarlatti, Boccherini also chose to live in Spain. From the age of 26, he was the composer to the Spanish Court in Madrid, where, after a brief detour, he died penniless. Although the virtuoso cellist had made a great contribution to string quartet music – and these are his most frequently performed pieces – as a rare treat, the Baroque ensemble of the Festival Orchestra will perform one of his symphonies. Listening to the symphony, you can almost feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, and enjoy the gentle, airy, optimistic quality of his music. Domenico Sarro is another composer who is more famous for his operas than his concertos, which makes his magical and at times heart-wrenching Recorder Concerto in A minor a true rarity.
