Le Mythe de Lucrèce

This program is an invitation to dive right in the heart of early 18th century music and in a baroque Europe wholly influenced by Italian masters. A mirrored look between two great German composers Haendel and Bach and their Italian contemporaries Corelli and Scarlatti.

The Mythe de Lucrèce as a guiding thread: set to music by Haendel, this piece offers to discover him in his Italian period. At this time if one wanted to perfect their training, be it musical, pictorial, or otherwise, it was customary to travel to Italy, recognised as the country of Art. Georg-Friedrich Haendel, left at the age of 21 to travel to Florence, Rome and Venice where he would meet the greatest musicians: Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti and maybe even Vivaldi! This stay would strongly influence his composing as proven by his cantata Lucrezia, true testament to this Italian style.

As a response to this piece of Haendel, we will introduce another cantata on the same subject : Lucretia Romana by Alessandro Scarlatti. This Cantata, with its long recitative passages and Aria episodes in between, is a good representation of the tragic and complex destiny of Lucretia.

Alongside those vocal pieces, we will play instrumental pieces from Johann-Sebastian Bach, Arcangelo Corelli and Domenico Scarlatti (son). Those sonatas and Partitas aptly represent the peak of the baroque period alternating between virtuoso allegros, tender and lyrical adagios and fast-paced dance movements.