Plaisir d’amour

Concert Hall Programme

“… but above all for its sweetness and novelty the Viol d’Amore of 5 wyre strings, plaied on with a bow… than which I never heard a sweeter instrument or more surprizing…”

In this way, in his diary of 1679, John Evelyn summarized all the fascination that this singular instrument, mysterious as regards its origins and its name, has exercised from the Baroque era to the present day. Hybrid between the violin and viol families, it has inspired performers and composers from Biber to Prokofiev, from Vivaldi to Hindemith, from Bach to Meyerbeer and Massenet, from Telemann to Puccini.

The program of this concert mainly intends to offer a look at a particularly refined and “modern” genre within the vast sonatistic repertoire for the viola d’amore, namely that of the Sonata with harpsichord obbligato. From the typically Baroque writing of Telemann, passing through the gallant style of Mr. Meyer up to a demanding sonata, in a completely classical style of Rust.

Although it accompanies arias in A. Scarlatti’s Tigrane and G.B.Pergolesi’s La Morte di S.Giuseppe, no instrumental piece known to date has been written for the viola d’amore by the composers of the Neapolitan School. However, the German L. Vetter has somehow filled this gap by inserting in his Sonata n.1 in D major. a series of variations on the famous aria “Nel cor più non mi sento” from La bella molinara by G.Paisiello.

Programme

G.P. Telemann (1681 — 1767)

Sonata in B major for Viola d’amore and Hapsichord obbligato by Mr. Telemann

Largo – Allegro – with Gravità but not Grave – Allegro

Mr.  Meyer (mid 18^th century)

Partita in F major for Harpsichord and Viola d’amore

Allegro – Minuetto – Largo – vivace

G.P. Telemann

Fantasia nr.8 in G minor for solo Harpsichord

J.P. Martini (1741-1816)

“Plaisir d’amour” (arr. L.van Wefelghem)

H.L. Vetter (1745?- 1819)

Variations on “Nel cor più non mi sento” for solo Viola d’Amore

F.W. Rust (1739 – 1796)

Sonata for Harpsichord and Viola d’amore

Allegro – Andantino Grazioso – Minuetto with variations

1. Boccherini (1743-1805)

Fandango (arr. R.Tiseo)

Pierfrancesco Borrelli

He completed his musical education at the San Pietro a Majella conservatory in Naples, graduating with honors in harpsichord under the guidance of Rosa Klarer after completing his studies in piano, conducting, and music pedagogy. He also studied chamber music with Antonio Florio, obtained a higher diploma in conducting at the Burgas State Academy under the guidance of Ivan Koujukarov and a degree in D.A.M.S. at the University of Bologna with a thesis on the Neapolitan madrigal of the 16th century. He deepened the study of Baroque performance practice and historical keyboards, dedicating himself in particular to the repertoire of the Neapolitan school between the 17th and 18th centuries. During his career he has given concerts both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles at prestigious Italian and foreign concert institutions (France, Germany, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Russia, Finland, Libya, Japan) collaborating among others with J.Schröder, C. Banchini, M. Larrieu, S. Mingardo, M. Marin, A. Pendatchanska, S.Prina…. He continues to work with the ensembles La Burrasca, MusiCÃntica, L’Amoroso Affetto, Madrigalisti della Pietrasanta, TemperaMenti, Il Labirinto, Musici dell’Aquarium, I Solisti della Pietà de’ Turchini and collaborated with the Orchestra of the Teatro San Carlo and the Solisti di Napoli. From 1995 to 2006 he was the permanent conductor of the Orchestra of the Basilica of Santa Chiara. He is pianist and founder of the Artelli Ensemble, a chamber ensemble from the Trio onwards that ranges from the chamber repertoire of the classical to the contemporary period.

Since 2004 he has collaborated as a harpsichord master with the Pietà de’ Turchini Centre for Early Music in Naples, participating in the multiple projects of the institution, such as concert productions, seminars, master classes, etc.

As both harpsichordist and pianist he has recorded for Imprint Records, Inedita by SONY Dadc and STRADIVARIUS (2011). He also recorded for RAI, Mediaset, ZDF and won the International Prize of Music Composition for Video in 1999.

He is often invited to hold seminars and advanced courses in ensemble and chamber music (even with historical instruments) and to participate as commissioner in juries of music competitions in various Italian cities.

Winner of professorship competitions for exams and qualifications in music conservatories, he has taught at the conservatories of Cosenza, Trapani, Udine, L’Aquila, Reggio Calabria, Benevento, Messina, Salerno, Palermo, Naples, Foggia, Matera and Potenza. He currently holds the chair of Chamber Music at the “Domenico Cimarosa” Conservatory of Music in Avellino.

Raffaele Tiseo

Born in Benevento in 1972, he graduated in violin, composition and conducting. Since 1987 he has carried out intense artistic activity in prestigious chamber and orchestral ensembles both Italian and foreign: the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Turin, Chamber Orchestra of BRNO (Czech Republic), Orchestra of the Theater of PRESOV (Slovakia), Orchestra of the Theater of ODESSA (Ukraine), Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau (Romania), Symphonic Orchestra of Transylvania (Romania), Instrumental Academy of Rome, Philharmonic Orchestra of the “G.VERDI” Theater of Salerno, Regional Orchestra of Campania, Regional Orchestra of Molise, I Virtuosi Italiani. He was also first violin of the Chamber Orchestra of Caserta. He has held numerous concerts in major Italian and foreign cities: Tunis, Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, Bonn, Budapest, Helsinki, San Francisco, Los Angeles.

For many years he has dedicated himself to the performance practice of the music of the ‘600 and’ 700, following the lessons of Enrico Gatti and Chiara Banchini and he was part of various chamber and orchestral formations including Musica Antiqua Toulon (France), I Pilarmonici Academy of Verona, Collegium pro Musica (Genoa), Il Rossignolo (Pisa), Dolce & Tempesta (Milan). He has held concerts in the most prestigious festivals in Italy and abroad (Naples, Rome, Florence, Brindisi, Genoa, Turin, Paris, Dusseldorf, Basel, Hamburg, Bremen, Carthage, Beaune, Santiago de Compostela, Zamora, Gdansk, Krakow etc.) collaborating with some of the most important names on the European music scene (Emma Kirkby, Ann Hallemberg, Karina Gouvin, Sandrine Piau, Gemma Bertagnolli, Simone Kermes, Ildebrando d’arcangelo, Stefano Montanari, Federico Guglielmo, Marcello Gatti…).

He is currently a permanent member of the baroque ensemble Modo Antiquo (Florence), also as a Viola d’Amore soloist. He is also part of the chamber ensemble Le Musiche Nove and, since 2007, he has been the first violin and solo violin of La Confratenita de’ Musici (Brindisi). He has recorded for Tactus, Bongiovanni, Cantus, Deutsch Grammophone and Sony.