Orpheus Baroque – Queen Christina here and there

Orpheus’ Treasure Trove – A baroque christmas greeting

Christmas is the season of music! Orfeus Treasure Chamber is visited by the Italian baroque specialist, organist, and harpsichordist Luca Guglielmi in a program centered around Christmas. The program includes reconstructed trio sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, a type of compositions destroyed in a fire in Weimar in 1714, when many works from this important period of his creativity were lost. Also featured is music by Arcangelo Corelli, a truly central figure in the musical life of Rome during his time, who refined and popularized the trio sonata and the concerto grosso format.Since its founding in 2015, Orpheo Baroque has become an indispensable part of the capital's music scene and a meeting place for both the musicians of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and some of Sweden's leading freelance baroque musicians. The ensemble's more chamber music-oriented approach, as we encounter here, emerges under the banner of Orpheus' Treasure Trove.Each concert with Orpheus Baroque is led by guest top musicians in early music, and here we once again encounter the Italian organist and harpsichordist Luca Guglielmi, one of the world's foremost experts in early music.

Orpheus’ Treasure Trove – Fretted and Catchy

Orfeus Baroque, since its formation in 2015, has evolved into an indispensable part of the capital's music scene and a meeting place for both musicians of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and some of Sweden's leading freelance baroque musicians. This time, we hear the ensemble in its more chamber music-oriented setting under the banner of Orpheus’s Treasure Trove. The focus is on music for the viola da gamba, a string instrument that was common during the 15th to 17th centuries and comes in several sizes. The sound of the viola da gamba is soft yet intense, and with the movie Tous les matins du monde (1991), both the instrument and the gamba composer Marin Marais gained great attention. Other Renaissance and Baroque masters who composed for the viola da gamba, such as John Dowland, François Couperin, and Johann Sebastian Bach, are also featured.Here, the music is interspersed with readings of contemporary texts by celebrities such as John Locke, Shakespeare, David Hume, and Molière. The reader is the actor Stina Ekblad, who has participated in countless theater productions, films, and TV productions. Since 1988, she has been a member of the permanent ensemble at the Royal Dramatic Theatre and in recent years has appeared in productions such as The Tempest, The Ghost Sonata, Peer Gynt, The City of Women, and Electra.

Verità Baroque

The ensemble Verità Baroque, some of whose members also form the Alinde Quartet, firmly believes Baroque music is relevant today. Using period instruments, this new generation of musicians joyfully explores the works of Vivaldi, Telemann, and others, connecting them with contemporary compositions. Their performances promise new insights, listening experiences, and spontaneous moments of happiness.

Bal baroque

Join in the dancing! As part of the festivities in honour of William Christie’s 80th birthday, Les Arts Florissants invites you to a new participatory ball.

Baroque soloists "fattoamano"

In earlier times, anyone who gave their Opus 1 to print sent out a clear signal: They had completed their musical apprenticeship and the time had come to present their first works to the public. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, it was customary to present trio sonatas for two violins and basso continuo in such an opus 1. The Roman violin master Arcangelo Corelli did this in 1681, as did many of his colleagues.The baroque soloists of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra fattoamano will present a small selection of these opus 1 trio sonatas.

Baroque Solo Concertos

Every two years, the BRSO Academy holds its traditional baroque concert, in which the stipendiaries focus on the interpretation of works from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Orpheus Baroque – Pioneers of the symphony

Welcome to the 18th-century music scene in Milan. The city was a creative hub for the development of symphonies and witnessed significant moments in music history. Among those who visited the city and found inspiration was the young Mozart. We also encounter a number of relatively unknown masters today, such as Brioschi, Rolla – and the Swedish composer Per Brant, who found a new style in Milan.One of the great names in Italian Baroque was the Milanese Sammartini. He hardly ever left his hometown of Milan but had contact with celebrities such as Johann Christian Bach, Boccherini, Mozart, and Gluck.Orfeus Barock Stockholm mainly consists of members from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. In just under ten years, the ensemble has become a dynamic and creative meeting place – not only for philharmonic musicians with expertise in early music but also for many other leading baroque musicians in Sweden. The artistic directors are the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's solocellist Johannes Rostamo and the concertmaster and baroque violinist Elin Gabrielsson, a member of groups such as the Italian Europa Galante.Orfeus Barock's highly popular concerts feature thematic programs and collaborations with invited top musicians from the international baroque music scene. This concert is led by the music researcher, double bassist, and conductor Vanni Moretto, who himself studied at the Milan Conservatory.

Chamber concert: strings flute baroque lute

An exciting journey of discovering the wide-ranging world of the Baroque era: the programme features a hand-picked selection of chamber music from the 17th and 18th centuries, some of which are rarely heard works filled with virtuosity, colours and melodic expression. And there is a marvellous foray into some of the European courts of this era. The influence of the Dresden court lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss, for example, reached far beyond Saxony: Wilhelmine, the music-loving Margravine of Bayreuth, also arranged for his harmonious compositions to be performed in her palace. When Telemann presented his series of quartets at the royal court in Versailles, the musical world there was at his feet – as the elegant and engaging dance movements were his fervent homage to the most elegant court in Europe at the time. It was said of Karl Kohaut that he was a »must-hear« when visiting Vienna. He was regarded as a gifted player of the lute in Haydn’s circle, but also composed himself – often with a preference for folk idioms. Michel Lambert was not only famous as a singer in the Parisian salons in the age of Louis XIV, but was also widely popular for his marvellous melodies, which were published widely as instrumental works. At the end of the Baroque picture book, we hear wonderful variations on the »Follia« tune, a stirring dance in triple metre that was a popular hit in Europe at that time: it was performed constantly in the streets, whether sung, whistled or stomped. Vivaldi’s magnificent version is a true showdown between the instruments.

Originalklang Ensemble Diderot with French baroque music

The Ensemble Diderot explores the diverse beauties of baroque chamber music. For this concert, the French trio sonata takes centre stage. These are musical treasures full of dance – like vigour and melodic elegance, in which two melodic voices are intertwined with a bass line. Great composers like François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau focused on the genre, but lesser-known names can also be discovered on this programme – such as that of Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, who was patronised by King Louis XIV and was considered a “miracle of the century” during her lifetime.

Pearls in Baroque: The French Connection of Purcell