Classical music: Il Gardellino

Founded in 1988 by oboist Marcel Ponseele and flautist Jan De Winne, Il Gardellino has established itself as one of the leading ensembles for Baroque and pre-Classical music performed on period instruments. Composed of musicians from the best European training programmes, the orchestra passionately explores the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. Il Gardellino offers us a “divine” musical journey to the heart of Baroque Europe, between Germany and Italy. The programme opens with the delicate Pastorale per la notte di Natale by the German composer Johann David Heinichen, followed by the deeply expressive Cantata pastorale by Alessandro Scarlatti. This will be followed by Georg Friedrich Handel's Concerto for Flute in A minor, where virtuosity dialogues with elegance, and Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata Der Friede sei mit dir (BWV 158), a rare work for baritone, flute and oboe. Excerpts from Handel's famous Messiah will punctuate the first part of the concert, bringing it a striking vocal richness.

In the second half, Il Gardellino will perform Georg Philipp Telemann's highly expressive Concerto for Oboe in C minor, followed by a new cantata by Scarlatti, Il Giardino di rose, which features the magnificent aria Mentre io godo, sung by a soprano. The concert will conclude with a masterful work by J.S. Bach: Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen, a sublime dialogue between soprano, bass, oboe and strings, encapsulating the composer's genius.

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