FULL PROGRAMME
PORPORA VS HANDEL
This concert will take you back to one of these magnificent evenings in London where composers Porpora and Handel battled over music, offering the most beautiful compositions of the genre ever written.
Vivica Genaux & Les Musiciens du Louvre, dir. Thibault Noally
7:30 pm
FRIDAY 10,
JANUARY
(NOT SO) ITALIAN CONCERTOS
Music by Couperin, Naudot, Buxtehude and Telemann alongside works by Vivaldi. Enjoy the so-called 'Italian' concertos, with a French and German twist.
Les Contre-Sujets
12 noon
SATURDAY 11,
JANUARY
SACRED VIVALDI
Vivaldi composed all the works of this concert for the famous Venetian foundling institution, the Ospedale della Pieta, where the female musicians, known as the figlie di coro, performed them for international audiences.
La Serenissima
7:30 pm
SATURDAY 11,
JANUARY
GERMAN CELEBRITY COMPOSERS: FROM CONCERTO TO OPERA
Discover the beautiful music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach along with the renowned works of Handel and Telemann in the wonderful setting of Verdala Palace.
Les Contre-Sujets
12 noon
SUNDAY 12, JANUARY
THE GODFATHER
A feast of instrumental colour with oboes, bassoons, trumpets, timpani, strings and continuo by the finest composers of the baroque era such as Telemann, Fasch and Vivaldi. For a small fee you can meet the artists after the concert whilst having a drink and some appetisers.
La Serenissima
5:30 pm
SUNDAY 12, JANUARY
ORPHEUS, I AM
The Grand Salon at the Archaeology Museum is a perfect stage for this delightful evening concert featuring English, French and Italian music from the late Renaissance and early Baroque. The title refers to the first work on the programme by Robert Johnson. For a small fee you can meet the artists after the concert whilst having a drink and some appetisers.
Joel Frederiksen & Ensemble Phoenix Munich
7:30 pm
MONDAY 13, JANUARY
MEDITERRÁNEA
Mediterránea showcases 17th century soloist repertoire in original tablature style by the main "Maestros" of the guitar and the theorbo. Almost all the pieces are presented in a duo format in which the Zapico brothers recreate an improvised accompaniment with a historical approach.
Forma Antiqva; duo Daniel Zapico & Pablo Zapico
12 noon
TUESDAY 14, JANUARY
INSPIRED BY BAROQUE
Baroque music has been an inspiration for great composers, such as the music of Couperin for Richard Strauss or the music by Bach for Andrea Gottardello. This concert is a beautiful example of these cross fertilizations.
Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, dir. Riccardo Bianchi
7:30 pm
TUESDAY 14, JANUARY
GOLDBERG VARIATIONS
First published in 1741, this legendary work is one of the most important examples of the variation form and is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also have been its first performer.
Jory Vinikour, harpsichord
12 noon
WEDNESDAY 15, JANUARY
DURANTE’S MESSA DE’ MORTI
IN C MINOR
This mass is one of Durante’s most important compositions. The first performance dates back to 1746 in the church of San Giacomo degli Spagnoli in Rome on the occasion of the demise of King Philip V of Spain.
Cantar Lontano, Valletta Baroque Ensemble & the Monteverdi Project
7:30 pm
WEDNESDAY 15, JANUARY
BACH REWORKED
“Reworkings” aims to explore the world of Johann Sebastian Bach’s transcriptions of which there are countless examples such as the Italian concertos by composers like Vivaldi or Marcello who transcribed them for the organ.
Teodoro Baù & Andrea Buccarella
12 noon
THURSDAY 16, JANUARY
NEAPOLITAN CELLO CONCERTOS
Discover some musical treasures from 18th century Naples. Two of the works performed are written by Nicola Fiorenza, composer and violinist known for his eccentric style, who played for many years in the Orchestra of the Neapolitan Royal Chapel.
Catherine Jones & Controcorrente
7:30 pm
THURSDAY 16, JANUARY
BACH & SCARLATTI
The fine selection of Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti in combination with some delightful transcriptions of works by Johann Sebastian Bach are the perfect ingredients for a beautiful lunchtime concert.
Elena Pogulyaeva, piano
12 noon
FRIDAY 17, JANUARY
HANDEL'S CHANDOS ANTHEMS AND CONCERTI
The Chandos Anthems are a fine collection of sacred choral compositions written by George Frideric Handel at the time when he was composer in residence at Canons, home of James Brydges, who became the first Duke of Chandos in 1719.
Voices and Instruments of Time and Truth
7:30 pm
FRIDAY 17, JANUARY
EXPLORING BACH'S CANTATAS – DISCOVERY DAY AND PERFORMANCE
This lecture performance gives insights to Bach’s magnificent Cantatas. Sandy Burnett, one of the UK’s most authoritative broadcasters in the field of classical music, will walk you through the works whilst they are performed live.
Sandy Burnett & Voices and Instruments of Time and Truth
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
SATURDAY 18, JANUARY
PERGOLESI’S STABAT MATER & MORE
Along with the iconic Stabat Mater by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, the concert will highlight masterpieces of Neapolitan Baroque such as the Dies Irae by Gennaro Manna. The Church of St Catherine is the perfect setting for this spectacular concert.
Abchordis Ensemble
7:30 pm
SATURDAY 18, JANUARY
IL SOFFIO DI PARTENOPE
During the 1670s a powerful school of wind instrument players began to establish itself in Naples. Il Soffio di Partenope presents a small sample of the virtuoso Neapolitan repertoire written for them. It includes, amongst others, works by Alessandro Scarlatti, Nicola Fiorenza and Aniello Santangelo.
Ensemble Barocco di Napoli & Abchordis Ensemble
11:30 am
SUNDAY 19, JANUARY
RENAISSANCE VARIATIONS - MARAIS - BACH
This concert takes you from one musical era to another. It starts with demonstrating the power of the rich diminution traditions of the Renaissance, when most of the instruments we now think of as “Baroque” - such as the recorder and viola da gamba - were fully de-veloped. Followed by the apogee of writing for the viola da gamba and the recorder fea-turing baroque masterpieces by Marin Marais and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Capriccio Stravagante Trio, dir. Skip Sempé (harpsichord)
3:30 pm
SUNDAY 19, JANUARY
DI SOSPIRI E DI TEMPESTE
In Baroque aesthetics, music not only describes the world of nature, but also the intricate inner geography of the human soul. Di Sospiri e di Tempeste showcases vocal and instrumental masterpieces by Vivaldi and Händel highlighting this descriptive aspect of music
Ensemble Barocco di Napoli with Tommaso Rossi (flute) & Maria Grazia Schiavo (soprano)
7:30 pm
SUNDAY 19, JANUARY
BACH TRANSCRIPTIONS
Berlin based pianist Kotaro Fukuma will guide the audience through the finest transcriptions of Bach’s music including Bach-Saint-Saëns’ Overture from Cantata BWV 29 and Bach-Fukuma’s reworking of the Aria ‘Erbarme Dich, mein Gott’.
Kotaro Fukuma, piano
12 noon
MONDAY 20, JANUARY
STABAT MATER - ASTORGA & GALUPPI
The beautiful collegiate church of the Immaculate Conception in Bormla is the setting for some of the finest sacred baroque music. Central in the programme are the Stabat Mater versions by Vivaldi and Astorga, together with Galuppi’s Dixit Dominus
Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri, dir. Giulio Prandi
7:30 pm
MONDAY 20, JANUARY
AT ONCE IT CHARMS THE SENSE...
The range of songs for theorbo and singer from 17th century Europe offers a delightful overview of the intimate, confessional, syllabic lute songs to a more extrovert, stylised, hit-them-between-the-eyes approach
Nicholas Mulroy & Elizabeth Kenny
12 noon
TUESDAY 21, JANUARY
HEINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ VON BIBER’S REQUIEM
This concert will take the audience through a selection of Biber’s finest instrumental and vocal music, with his Requiem as the star piece.
Valletta Baroque Ensemble (ViBE) & KorMalta
7:30 pm
TUESDAY 21, JANUARY
THE GOLDBERGS REINVENTED
The Goldberg Variations have been endlessly transcribed for all sorts of instruments which makes them all the more fascinating. If you ever wondered how they sound on clarinet, violin and marimba, then join the MOA Trio at the Maritime Museum to find out.
MOA Trio
12 noon
WEDNESDAY 22, JANUARY
PEDRO RUIMONTE - MUSIC AT THE COURT OF THE ARCHDUKES ALBERT & ISABELLA CLARA EUGENIA
Pedro Ruimonte wrote this music between 1601 and 1614 when he was Master of Chamber Music at the Brussels court of the Archduke Albert and his extremely cultured and artistic wife, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia. For a small fee you can meet the artists after the concert whilst having a drink and some appetizers.
La Grande Chapelle, dir. Albert Recasens
7:30 pm
WEDNESDAY 22, JANUARY
MUSICA CLANDESTINA
Celebrating the 400th anniversary of Barbara Strozzi’s birth, this captivating programme delves into the musical and personal lives of Strozzi and two other great baroque composers, Monteverdi and Carissimi.
Elin Manahan Thomas & Elizabeth Kenny
12:00 noon
THURSDAY 23, JANUARY
MUSIC FROM THE MISSIONS
The eight decades of the presence of Jesuit missionaries among the Chiquitos (1691-1767) and the Moxenos (1680-1767), in the Amazonian forest of eastern Bolivia saw a rapid development of the musical training of the indigenous population. An impressive collection of musical manuscripts had been produced by the composers and copyists of the ancient missions. This concert gives an exquisite overview of that wonderful music. For a small fee you can meet the artists after the concert whilst having a drink and some appetizers.
Florilegium, dir. Ashley Solomon
7:30 pm
THURSDAY 23, JANUARY
NEL MEZZO DEL CAMMIN DI NOSTRA VITA
This lunchtime concert will be a musical journey, taking the audience through the three after-worlds lying beyond our mortal life inspired by Dante Alighieri’s descriptions in the Divina Commedia.
Voces Souaves
12 noon
FRIDAY 24, JANUARY
GIULIO CESARE. A BAROQUE HERO
The countertenor Raffaele Pé and his ensemble La Lira di Orfeo approach the figure of Gaius Julius Caesar with refined musicality and artistry demonstrating contrasting the personality traits of the great general who was capable not only of heroic acts but also of compassion, amorous exhilaration and physical and emotional fragility.
Raffaele Pé & La Lira di Orfeo
7:30 pm
FRIDAY 24, JANUARY
LA BELLE DANSE
ViBE in partnership with dancers from the Moveo Dance Company, explore the rich repertoire of French and Italian Suites which offer a particularly rich trove of dance movements. Audiences will be transported to a time when the collaboration between music and dance flourished, demonstrating what composers and dance masters of the baroque era thought to be a perfect harmony of artistic expression.
Valletta Baroque Ensemble (ViBE) & Moveo Dance Company
12 noon
SATURDAY 25, JANUARY
BEL CANTO DI NAPOLI
This programme promises to be like a beautiful musical firework display. The works presented were composed during the golden era of Naples with arias written for Farinelli, Cafarelli and other virtuoso castrati, as well as music describing ‘la Tempesta’ by Vivaldi, Porpora, Pergolesi, Hasse, Handel and others.
Simone Kermes & Amici Veneziani
7:30 pm