“Concerto
Gallese work tirelessly rediscovering the neglected beauty of ancient works and
performing them for local audiences in interesting surroundings . . . early
music at its best” (Brecon and Radnor Express, May 2003)
Concerto Gallese Baroque Orchestra & Soloists is
a professional period instrument orchestra based in South Wales. Founded in 1994
by violinist Christopher Hair and singer Malcolm Bennett for a one-off event in
Brecon Cathedral, the ensemble is now well-known in Mid and South Wales for its
lively interpretation of baroque music using period instruments and authentic
performing techniques. At its centre is a core group of five performers
comprising voice/recorders, two violins, ‘cello and keyboard. Extra
instrumentalists and singers augment this ensemble, as the occasion dictates.
Training is of paramount importance, and as such, the enhanced orchestra
consists of a combination of young professionals and talented amateurs, together
with a number of well-established professionals. The orchestra actively promotes
the performance of music by lesser-known composers alongside that of their
mainstream contemporaries. Modern premieres have included works by Giovanni
Bianchi, Francesco Mancini, Nicola Matteis, Alessandro Stradella and Francesco
Scarlatti. In July 2001 they presented the first modern-day performance of the
Roman composer Pietro Paolo Bencini’s oratorio Il sacrificio di Abramo
[1708]. They have worked with the Dyfed Choir in performances of music by
Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach’s B Minor Mass, and recently premiered The
Prodigy of Love, a cantata commissioned by the orchestra from composer Simon
Thorne, coupled with Stradella’s Qual prodigio č ch’io miri?
Bookings this year include two performances of Handel’s Dixit Dominus
with Pembrokeshire-based chamber choir Tempus. On 17 October the orchestra made
their London debut at the Wigmore Hall, in a programme of newly-discovered
choral works by Francesco Scarlatti. Soloists will include Emma Kirkby. The same
programme was recorded by Deux-Elles for release on cd in January 2004.
Future projects include a reconstruction of the London St. Cecilia’s Day
celebrations of 1696, with music by Matteis and John Lenton, and performances of
Stradella’s Lo schiavo liberato, Francesco Scarlatti’s Il Daniele
nel lago de leoni, and Luigi Rossi’s Oratorio per la Settemana Santa.
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