The Heart of the Baroque
German and Italian Baroque
Vivaldi – J. S. Bach – Albinoni – Telemann
Suomalainen barokkiorkesteri
Works by Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Tomaso Albinoni and Georg Philipp Telemann lead us to the heart of the Baroque. Alongside Bach’s orchestral suite and small but spirited gems by Italian masters, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) performs Telemann’s overture-suite inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s classic novel Don Quixote.
The Symphony a cinque in B-flat (1700) by the Venetian Tomaso Albinoni still carries echoes of older instrumental polyphony. His compatriot Antonio Vivaldi, by contrast, filled his string concertos with contrast, effects and profound emotion. In addition to the Concerto in G minor (RV 156), the programme features an enchanting ciaccona from the Concerto in C major (RV 114).
Georg Philipp Telemann was the foremost advocate of the French-style overture-suite in Germany. During his career, he turned twice to Cervantes’s celebrated satire Don Quixote. The overture-suite Burlesque de Quixotte may date from his Frankfurt period. A masterful example of musical depiction and affect, it portrays the famous scene in which Quixote battles windmills. The noble knight, the beloved Dulcinea, the irascible Sancho Panza and the heroes’ steeds all receive their own musical character.
The orchestral suites of Johann Sebastian Bach lie at the very heart of the Baroque. Most of them were likely composed at the court of Köthen, where Bach focused on instrumental music. This concert features selections from the ever-delightful Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major (BWV 1066).
Duration: 40 min (Helsinki), 50 min (Järvenpää)
HELSINKI
Free entry
JÄRVENPÄÄ
Free entry, programme 10 €