Alors on danse

Baroque danser Ludovica Mosca recreates baroque dance art in a lively spectacle.

Baroque and dance, music and movement – one did not exist without the other.  A playful menuet, a solemn sarabande or a happy gigue sufficed to invite musicians, stable men, even the Sun King himself to the dance floor. Ludovica Mosca, specialized baroque dancer, moves all members of Les Abbagliati in blockbusters such as Corelli's La Follia and Couperin's l'Apothéose de Lully. When adding her historical castagnettes, the revelry is complete. A true baroque fest, in which moving is simply compulsary.

F. Couperin: L’Apothéose de Lully
J.M. Leclair: Chaconne Deuxième récréation de musique
J.S. Bach: Suite for cello
A. Corelli: La Folia for violin and bc
J.F. Rebel: Les Caractères de la Danse.
J.B. Boismortier: Premier ballet de village

Instruments: Ludovica Moska (dance), flute, violin, viola da gamba, harpsichord

 

La Victoire Amoureuse

The voice of powerful love: delicate and overwhelming French cantatas

The 'cantate française' was a novelty near the end of Louis XIV's life.  A true hit in aristocratic circles, these charming mini-opera's combined French sophistication and Italian splendour.

Les Abbagliati demonstrate the thriving formula in two of the genre's finest examples. Orphée (Orpheus) moves the gatekeepers of the Underworld to tears with his wondrous plaint. In Le Dépit Généreux, the narrator celebrates his bittersweet release from the chains of love. Soprano Soetkin Elbers emphasises the refined poetry using baroque gestures: a pleasure for the eye ánd ear! Instrumental pieces by Telemann and Couperin make a stunning miscellaneous whole.

F. Couperin : Premier Concert Royal
L .N. Clérambault : Cantate Orphée
G.Ph. Telemann : Le sixième quatuor Parisien
M.P. Montéclair : Cantate Le Dépit généreux

Instruments: voice, oboe, flute, violin, viola da gamba, harpsichord

 

Aliens in London

A theatrical program straight from London's hit list.

A successor of Italy, Germany and France, England, and more particularly London, became the musical heart of Europa. Audiences, composers and singers would compete for their seat in a city that throve on international celebrities. Les Abbagliati will offer you a snapshot of what 1700 had going on, from the German Haendel/Handel to the Italians Bononcini and Astorga and the French Leclair, one of Princess Anne's personal favorites. What makes this collection truly unique and profound is a reconstruction of baroque motion by the singer.

G.F. Handel: triosonate in b,opus 2 nr. 1 HWV 386b
G. Bononcini: Sento dentro del petto un lusinghiero ardor
G.F. Handel: Pensieri notturni di Filli, HWV 134
J. Playford: dances from The Division Violin
E. d’Astorga: Che ti giova, amor crudele
J-M. Leclair: Chaconne Deuxième recreation de musique opus 8

Instruments: voice, flute, violin, cello, harpsichord

 

Flight Paris-Venice

French and Italian baroque music in a diverse and versatile program

Only recently, low cost airlines have made the world a lot less huge – in the 18th century however, the Alps divided Europe in two parts. Italy and France were embroiled in a cultural battle concerning distinct ideological differences:  French dancing, sophistication and grace versus Italian melodies, embellishment and virtuosity. There was a lot of 'spying', in order to copy one another's taste. Les Abbagliati fly hence and forth between the flavour of the both nations.

Instruments: flute, violin, cello, harpsichord

Composers : G. Platti, J.B. Boismortier, D. Alberti, A. Vivaldi

 

Cruel Beauty

A amorous trip in a baroque gondola. Glowing cantatas by Vivaldi, in conjunction with sonatas by his pupil Platti

Love goes straight to the heart, makes us go round on endless seas, makes us look like fools.

Three extraorinary cantatas of the Venetian master Antonio Vivaldi  show us the cruel and luminous appearance of love itself. Similar to his opera's, they have undoubtedly the same artistic quality. Soprano Soetkin Elbers performs using the historical art of gesture: a fascinating quest for body language adding expression to the music. Alternating with instrumental music written by Giovanni Benedetto Platti, a most talented pupil of Vivaldi, the whole of this program will astonish you with elegance and unexpected melancholy

A. Vivaldi: Cantate All’ombra di Sospetto
G. Platti: Sonata for cello and bc
A. Vivaldi: Cantate Amor, hai vinto
G. Platti: Sonata for flute and bc
A. Vivaldi: Cantate Tremori al braccio

Instruments: voice, flute, cello, harpsichord

 

Telemann vs. Bach

Two famous baroque composers in a genuine challenge: a contest lacking losers.

Bach:a  serious thinker, deep wrinkles. Telemann: a frivolous merchant, lacking emotional depth. Bach: genious until the end of times. Telemann: fashionable, a long time ago. Talking about these two masterminds of German Baroque, stereotypes emerge. Les Abbagliati invites the audience to go beyond the obvious. Was Bach really that serious? Doesn't Telemann deserve more attention? What about his enchanting melodies? Les Abbagliati created a breathtaking tribute to the musical imagination of these two friends  – Telemann was even the godfather of one of Bach's sons: Carl Philipp Emauel – sharing solid fugues, grievous adagio's, gracious airs, splendid presto's! At the end of the duels, only the winner stands.

J.S. Bach: Triosonate in G BWV 1038
G.Ph. Telemann: Quatuor in d TWV 1042:45
J.S. Bach: Suite for cello
G.Ph. Telemann: Quatuor Parisien VI in e
J.S. Bach: Sonate for violin
G.Ph. Telemann: Sonate en trio en Sol M (TWV 42:G1)

Instruments: violin, flute, cello, harpsichord

 

Classic Gems

Les Abbagliati heads for quiet waters with a surprising interpretation of Haydn's rarely performed trio's for flute, violin and cello

Written for amateur musicians, Haydn considered his trios for flute, violin and cello not to be his prime work of art. Nevertheless, each movement is a tiny sophisticated masterpiece. Three instruments take turns in  intimate conversation, full of delicate emotions, elegant poetry and surprising harmonies.  You will be unable to resist smiling when transported back in time, to the rooms of Haydn's lord Esterházy.

Instruments: violin, flute, cello

Composers: J.Haydn

 

So lonely am I!

Telemann's Fantasias for flute solo combined with the famous cello suites by Bach

One score, one instrument, one musician performing; this is the sound of vulnerability. The baroque repertoire for solo instruments reminds one of the human soul and its loneliness, while at the same time, it creates a multilayered universe of inner worlds.  In his famous cello suites, Bach touches an entire range of human emotions with just one bow.  A less obvious choice might seem Telemann's Fantasias for the flute. However, they are at least as fascinating. As Bach for the cello, Telemann extends the expressive boundaries of the flute. Catchy rhythmes, far-reaching melodies, playful arpeggios will dream up more flute players than there actually are. Ronan Kernoa (cello) and Sien Huybrechts (flute) are ready to take you on a silencing and imaginative journey.

Instruments: flute, cello

Composers: G.Ph.Telemann, J.S.Bach

Soetkin-gestes