My OperaCONCERTO ANTICO - Consort of Early Music
Friday, February 15, 2008 10:07:51 AM
The Consort of early music CONCERTO ANTICO was founded by Yanko Marinov in 2000 and its first performance was held to honor the visit of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark in Bulgaria. Since then its activity...
The Consort of early music CONCERTO ANTICO was founded by Yanko Marinov in 2000 and its first performance was held to honor the visit of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark in Bulgaria. Since then its activity (concerts, recordings and open lectures) aims to present the music of late Renaissance, Baroque and Gallant style not focused on the call for a conceivably original sound (the idea of “authenticity”) but on the internal substance of the music and its sense for the spirituality of each one of us. In their performance they implement in practice the concept of the Affects, the rhetoric (or poetic) figures constructing the music of the epoch, the connection of human with the harmony of spheres, historical motion of the music as procession of thought through the centuries.
In order to perform not only camera forms but also large oratorio compositions, the consort has attracted both instrumentalists and singers.
Thereby the consort realizes a concert performance of “Una Stravaganza dei Medici. Intermedi per la Pellegrina” (1589), organised by Istituto Italiano di Cultura – Sofia; a concert for the Inauguration of the Catholic Cathedral of “St. Joseph” in Sofia performing Händel’s Laudate pueri Dominum, HWV237 and Chandos Anthem No. 1: “O be joyful in the Lord”, HWV 246), as well as the premier for Bulgaria performance of arias from Handel oratorios and his recently discovered Gloria in excelsis Deo.
The Consort also realized numerous audio recordings for the Bulgarian National Radio and TV baroque programs. The consort Concerto antico has appeared in Greece, Austria, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
Since December 2006 the permanent group for performance of concertant stiles and trio forms consists of: Zefira Valova and Ivan Iliev - violino, Yanko Marinov - cembalo/organ and Yavor Genov - lute.
They participated in the fringe programme of the XXX Festival de Musica Antiga de Barcelona presenting trio sonatas of Telemann and Handel in three concerts. The project “Oratorias in chamber music” demonstrates large oratorio forms transformed into chamber music based on works of the Late Baroque. In this way it is shown one of the most interesting and fruitful composing technique of the époque – citation (parodie) technique, a kind of recycling as well exegesis of the musical material. Suitable example is Händel who uses different parts of his violino Sonatas in the music of his great Oratorio symphonies and choruses (Athalia, Debora, Il Parnasso in festa etc.), Opera overtures (Radamisto, Ariodante, Il Pastor fido etc.) and Concerts. With such transformations while hearing chamber music we imagine the imposing trumpet sound, virtuoso concertato passages or lyrical instrumental recitatives. After the successful participation the consort was invited to present a concert entitled “Polymorphia” in the main program of the XXXI edition of the Festival (May 2008). Sonatas by Biber, Corelli and Handel show also possibilities for combination of different forms, to archaize, to transform one style into another.
CONCERTO ANTICO is the first Bulgarian ensemble performing Baroque music on period instruments. Their interests lead to further specialization and studies abroad with Anton Steck, Lucy van Dael (baroque violin), Robert Hill (harpsihord), Karen de Pastel (organ) and Jacob Lindberg (lute). Their choice of repertoire resulted in presenting a large number of unfamiliar to the Bulgarian audience works and composers. Since 2007 they participate in the organization and concerts of Sofia Baroque Arts Festival (2007 – 2009).
CONCERTO ANTICO has performed at the Sofia Music Weeks Festival (2008), “Musica Christiana” Festival (2008) in a project with the distinguished Finnish harpsichord player and conductor Aapo Hakkinen and Fabulous Fringe series of the renowned Early Music Festival in Utrecht (2008, 2009), where their participation was described by critics as “the ultimate proof that ‘new’ Europe knows what to do with early music”.
Besides the great number of early music concerts, in 2010 – 2011 the ensemble realized the project “Music of the Spheres” supported by the “Culture” Programme of Sofia Municipality. At present (2012) the musicians of the consort are working on their new music project “East-West – on the Path of Harmony”.
