Concert of the Orchestre Régional de Normandie: Europe baroque
This program is the occasion of a real musical journey through the baroque Europe of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
From the Italian Vivaldi to the French Couperin, from the English Purcell to the German Bach, all the colors of baroque music are thus deployed by the musicians who give life to the lush emotions of this beautiful music.
Johann Sebastian Bach and one of his sons, Jean-Chrétien Bach, are undoubtedly the most beautiful ambassadors of German baroque music. The former has undeniably marked the history of music and its influence remains immense. But the contemporaries of Bach Sr have also deployed treasures of inventiveness and refinement throughout Europe.
François Couperin developed a «French style» with his «Royal Concerts» performed for Louis XIV and his court.
On the other side of the Channel, while Henry Purcell was inspired by French and Italian schools, he was able to innovate to create an identity specific to English baroque music.
It is in Portugal and Spain that the talent of the Italian Domenico Scarlatti flourished: author of 555 sonatas for harpsichord of exceptional originality and mostly unpublished in his lifetime, he is one of the major composers of the baroque era. His works occupy a key place in the development of the language and technique of keyboard music.
In Italy, baroque music is expressed with splendour thanks to the talent of Vivaldi whose works reflect the playful atmosphere of Venice at the beginning of the 18th century.
Janitsch, born in Silesia (today in Poland) joined forces with the Berlin School founded by the King of Prussia Frederick II, which allowed fruitful exchanges between the best musicians of that time. If baroque music was at the heart of the work of these musicians, it also had a pioneering role in opening the way to the classical style.
This concert is organized in partnership with the association ARCA. The concert will be preceded by a brief presentation of the former royal Benedictine abbey of Valognes by the director of the Pays d'art et d'histoire du Clos du Cotentin.