A British afternoon

Concert “A British afternoon” – Georg Friedrich Haendels Salon, with the ensemble Il Ricercar Continuo, CaronAntica festival di musica antica in Carona.

Eighteenth-century London was a luminous cultural centre. An emblematic figure was undoubtedly the German Georg Friedrich Haendel, then naturalized Englishman, composer and organizer of musical activities at the English royal court throughout his entire life. Distinguished musicians worked in Haendel’s orchestra, one of all John Ernst Galliard, originally from Celle in Germany but soon settled in the capital of the United Kingdom, working as an oboist and bassoonist in Queen Anne’s Consort. In 1711 he seems to have replaced Jean Baptiste Loeillet as oboist in the Queen’s Theatre, where Handel wrote especially for him. In the opening concert of CaronAntica’s season 2023, the ensemble Il Ricercar Continuo takes us on a journey through the prestigious English salons of the eighteenth century, rediscovering the brilliance of chamber music that explores the characteristics of the instruments, transforming them into almost operatic characters. The absolute protagonist is the baroque bassoon, but also a special triple harp, reproduced starting from the chronicles that describe the instrument used by William Powell, harpist in Handel’s orchestra, the baroque cello and the theorbo.

Il Ricercar Continuo

• Giulia Genini – Baroque bassoon, recorders
• Margret Köll – Harp
• Alessandro Palmeri – Cello
• Michele Pasotti – Theorbo