PASSION AND PASSACAGLIA
An exhilarating evening of music by some of the most entertaining and flamboyant composers of the 17th century, exploring the way the violin and lute family were emerging at this time as highly virtuosic and colourful solo instruments. Some composers will be familiar but others may be not so, and we look forward to introducing these lesser-known but highly regarded mavericks of the day!
Julia discovered her love of Early Music during her studies at the Royal College of Music when one day she heard the Baroque orchestra being directed by the inspiring Cat Mackintosh. 30 years later Julia is recognised as one of the leading Baroque violinists of her generation, touring the world extensively and making numerous recordings with the period instrument orchestras of the UK including the London Classical Players, the Hanover Band, the English Concert, with whom she was a member for 6 years, and as leader and soloist with the Gabrieli Consort and Players and since 2022 the Academy of Ancient Music and Florilegium.
In 1997 Julia co-founded the ensemble Red Priest with recorder player Piers Adams and enjoyed 19 years of huge success touring Europe, the Far East and America, and also making 6 highly acclaimed CDs. After a break from Red Priest while her daughter was growing up, Julia is now back with the group again, and from the 2023/24 season will be performing in Wallingford, Lewes, Rottingdean, Aberdeen, Ripon, and Karlsruhr, Germany. This Autumn also sees the launch of Red Priest Strings, an exciting new chamber ensemble comprising the UK’s leading Baroque string specialists and directed by Julia and Piers, opening with performances in churches and cathedrals throughout the South of England.
2023 also sees the beginning of a flamboyant new collaboration between Julia and acclaimed lutenist Paula Chateauneuf, exploring the fabulously bizarre and maverick composers of the 17th century!
Paula Chateauneuf’s playing has been described as “one of the most exciting things on the pre-classical concert circuit”. A Fulbright Scholar to London, she soon established herself there as one of early music’s leading soloists and ensemble players and became the linchpin of numerous groups including the Gabrieli Consort, New London Consort and Sinfonye. She has also performed with the Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts, Handel and Haydn Society, Avison Ensemble, The Instruments of Time and Truth, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, and Jordi Savall’s Le Concert des Nations.
Paula’s repertoire spans medieval music to the baroque, with particular expertise in early improvisation and the music of early 17th-century Italy. Her knowledge and skill in the art of basso continuo has made her one of the most sought-after accompanists in early music, resulting in fruitful collaborations with many leading singers including Catherine Bott, James Bowman, Michael Chance, and Mark Tucker. Her wealth of experience in early opera has led to involvement as both repetiteur and continuo player with the Bayerische Staatsoper, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and the Liceu Barcelona.
PROGRAMME
Dario Castello - Sonata prima
Marco Uccelini - Sonata seconda a violino solo detta la Luciminia contenta
Biagio Marini - Sonata quarta 'per sonar con due corde'
Alessandro Piccinini and Giovanni Kapsberger (attr.) - Toccata IV and Ciaccona for solo theorbo.
Heinrich Biber - Sonata no 5 in E minor
INTERVAL
Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi - Sonata op 3 no 2 'La Cesta'
[Passacaglia] (anon.) for solo theorbo
Archangelo Corelli - Sonata op 5 no 6