Baroque Weekend 

In art, literature and opera, war and love are often closely intertwined. A classic example is Claudio Monteverdi’s dramatic cantata Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, in which the Amazon warrior Clorinda and the Crusader Tancredi are both lovers and adversaries in a visceral battle to the death. La Fonte Musica performs this masterpiece on 30 November as part of our Baroque Weekend. It is an apt choice not only for our mini-festival but also for our season as a whole, both of which are taking place under the motto Controversial! Violent outbursts of emotion and intrigues are also prominent in Handel’s operatic cantata Aminta e Fillide, which William Christie conducts at the Weekend’s opening concert with his ensemble Les Arts Florissants and a team of accomplished young soloists.

These five high carat concerts feature other aspects of controversy. On 29 November, acclaimed countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and his Ensemble Artaserse present cantatas and arias by Antonio Vivaldi, Nicola Porpora, Baldassare Galuppi and Alessandro Scarlatti on the theme of “Jealousy”. The nonpareil Jordi Savall appears later that evening with his ensemble Hespèrion XXI to present a lush and diverse selection of Spanish music.

On 30 November, Michele Pasotti and his La Fonte Musica explore the controversies that raged over the question of the “right” way to compose music just as the renaissance era was ending and the baroque era began. Il Pomo d’Oro will perform concerti grossi by Handel, Corelli, Scarlatti, Locatelli, Sammartini, Avison and Muffat. All of these works provide their solo performers with the opportunity to engage in thrilling musical competition with the orchestra. This concert, which brings our Baroque Weekend to a close, will be accompanied from the harpsichord by Maxim Emelyanychev, who has already been heard conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker.