Peter Spissky

Thu Feb 13, 2025 at 7 pm
Järvenpää Church, Järvenpää

Fri Feb 14, 2025 at 7 pm
House of Nobility, Helsinki
The Residency Series at the House of Nobility

Valentine’s Day Baroque

Dazzling dances from Europe

Telemann–Purcell–Rameau–Rebel–Roman

Peter Spišský, violin and leader
Finnish Baroque Orchestra

Peter Spišský and Anthony Marini, programme planning

On Valentine’s Day, the violinist Peter Spišský invites FiBO to the dance! The programme is an attractive collection of dances from all over Europe, inviting smaller groups as well as the whole orchestra to whirl around. Spišský has worked for a long time in for instance Denmark and Sweden. In his dissertation, he discussed gestures and dance in relation to violin bowings.

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) was the most well-known German musician of his time. In his overture suite The Nations, he combines typical French and Italian dance movements with “ancient and modern” dances from Germany, Sweden and Denmark. The musician notices how the lifestyle everywhere has got more intense, but the wittily complaining final number is dedicated to old ladies. Henry Purcell’s (1659–1695) semi-opera Fairy Queen (1692) is based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and it gets fairies as well as haymakers to dance.

Jean-Philippe Rameau’s (1683–1764) Dardanus is considered one of the starting points of the opera feud between the lullists, advocating for Jean-Baptiste Lully’s old style, and the reformist ramists. The target of the critique was the excessive use of the supernatural as well as the heterogeneity and mixing of different genres. The modern audience can just sit back and enjoy the sparkling orchestration of the dances. Lully’s student Jean-Féry Rebel’s (1666–1747) success suite Les caractères de la danse (1715) was choreographed by the royal principal dancer Françoise Prévost. The lovely music of the suite travelled all the way to London and Händel’s music stand.

The Nordic countries are represented in the programme by the Swedish royal court composer Johan Helmich Roman (1694–1754) and his Golovinmusiken (1728). The collection of 45 movements altogether was composed for the festivities at the Russian ambassador Golovin’s residence in honour of the coronation of the twelve-year-old Russian czar Peter II. With this music, an original composer, well versed in the different European styles, enters the dance floor.

The Järvenpää concert is organized in co-operation between FiBO, Järvenpää parish and Järvenpää's cultural and event services.

Duration: 1 h 45 min (incl. intermission)

FiBO's artistic planner Anthony Marini introduces the concert at the House of Nobility on 14 February from 6 pm to 6.30 pm.

Before the concert and during the intermission, FiBO offers an opportunity to be photographed by a professional photographer.

JÄRVENPÄÄ
Tickets 25 € (normal), 20 € (discount groups) + 1,5 € delivery fee per order: Ticketmaster's points of purchase and ticketmaster.fi
Student tickets at the door 10 €

HELSINKI
Tickets 15/29/37/52 € (price according to the seat) including handling costs + 1,5 € delivery fee per order: Ticketmaster's points of purchase and ticketmaster.fi
Student tickets at the door 10 €

Series tickets for the residency series of the House of Nobility 72/92 € (price according to seat) including handling costs + 1,5 € delivery fee per order: Ticketmaster's points of purchase and ticketmaster.fi. Series tickets can be purchased until the series' first concert (February 14). Note! When you buy online, the system offers its best seat. If you want to choose a specific seat, it is possible at Ticketmaster's points of purchase.

Group offers and ticket inquieries: lippu@fibo.fi

JÄRVENPÄÄ
Tickets 25 € (normal), 20 € (discount groups) + 1,5 € delivery fee per order: Ticketmaster's points of purchase and ticketmaster.fi
Student tickets at the door 10 €