ENSEMBLE

STRAVAGANZA

he Stravaganza Ensemble is a baroque formation mainly dedicated to chamber music of the seventeenth

and eighteenth century for one or two high-pitched instruments. Brought together by the violinist Domi-

tille Gilon and the harpsichordist Thomas Soltani, musicians take part with enthusiasm and dedication to

this musical and human adventure, which makes each concert a unique and rewarding experience for the

audience.

The Stravaganza Ensemble includes various formations, with soloist musicians playing regularly in the main baroque

orchestras: La Simphonie du Marais (Hugo Reyne), Ensemble Sagittarius (Michel Laplénie), Opéra Fuoco (Jay Bern-

feld), Gli Incogniti (Amandine Beyer), Les Ambassadeurs (Alexis Kossenko), Pulcinella (Ophélie Gaillard), Pygmalion

(Raphael Pichon), les Musiciens de Saint-Julien (François Lazarevich)…

The Stravaganza Ensemble is regularly invited to numerous international festivals, in France (Printemps des Arts de

Monte-Carlo, Festival baroque du Pays du Mont Blanc, Musicale Internationale de Guil Durance, Sinfonia en Péri-

gord...), in Scotland (Sypert concert series - Edinburgh), in the Netherlands (Fabulous Fringe – Oude Muziek

Utrecht), in the United Kingdom, Belgium (Ma Festival), Germany (Tage Alter Musik Regensburg), Austria (Wiener

Konzerthaus), Poland…

The ensemble has been awarded in 2011 bronze medal of the Academy of Literature and Arts. They also won the third

prize and the special prize of critics and medias at the Premio Bonporti competition (Italy), the special prize ''De Graaf

Unico van Wassenaer Masterclass Award'' at the van Wassenaer international early music competition in Amsterdam

(Netherlands). Stravaganza has been also winner of the H.I.F Biber competition, in Austria (F.J. Aumann Prize).

The recordings of Stravaganza :" Concert at the Hapsburg Court ", Arcangelo Corelli (with trio sonatas opus 3, 4) and

Ariane & Orphee (French cantatas) has been very well received by the critics (Aparte label record).

The next recording of Stravaganza, will be released in September 2018, around the works of North German compo-

sers (Sonatas for two violins and viola da gamba by D. Buxtehude, J.A. Reinken, J. Theile...).

Stravaganza has the support of the Adami for different concerts tour. The ensemble is in residence in the national mu-

seum of Port-Royal des Champs (France). It is a member of the F.E.V.I.S.

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he “concerts royaux” were per-formed in the intimacy of the king, taking place almost every Sunday of the year. Prestigious musicians

came to Versailles to play in front of the Sun King, in the presence of Madame de Maintenon and a few rare courtiers. Couperin possessed this incredible ability to suggest states of mind and atmospheres in these four royal suites, intended for lis-tening more than dancing.

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his program is focussed, among other things, on the music of Nicola Matteis, “A prodigious violinist, whom no mortal has ever surpassed

on this instrument”: His suites for two vio-lins and basso-continuo fit perfectly with the sonatas in three parts of his illustrious contemporary Henry Purcell. These are written for two violins and viola da gamba.

This association of sonatas and suite of dances constitute a sublim dialogue between two well known English composers in the end of the XVIIth century, mixed with the dances of John Playford and Michel Farinel, written with a highly contagious rhythm.

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he corpus "Stravaganza" consists of twelve concertos mainly for one and two violins. The harmonic da-ring, the virtuosity of the writing

but also this learned dosage presenting a concentration of rhythmic and melodic for-mulas however never alter a depth marked by a tension present throughout the work.

Vivaldi shows in this opus of all its extrava-gance, through real experiments all more audacious ones than the others.

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his corpus of suites and sonatas of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber has been composed in Salzburg, around the year 1676. In this homage to

Mary, each piece is in relation with the life of the Christ.

Biber is using, during all this corpus, of the scordatura technique, unusual at this time. Whatever the tone of the piece, the violin resonates and emphasizes the richness of the discourse. The rosary sonatas, composed to celebrate the virgin, thus take on a whole other dimension, allowing us to reach those rare moments of fullness where one feels in peaceful harmony with the world.

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usic seems to have enlivened the Hapsburg Court since the fif- teenth century. The accession of Ferdinand III to the throne

started a new line of cultivated music-loving emperors, promoting talented musi-cians and prolific composers. As generous sponsors of the arts, they became effective actors of the musical life that punctuated events at the Court. The musical profusion at the Court had such an influence throughout Europe that exchanges began to take place.

Vienna with its Court and musicians became a place for constantly renewed experiences in musical practice, style, composition and interpretation techniques. Musical aes-thetics were profoundly enriched and diver-sified, incidentally showing the remarkable open-mindedness of the monarch.

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he appointment in 1689 of Pietro Ottoboni as Cardinal of San Loren-zo in Damaso marked the beginning of one of the most splendid epochs

of patronage of the arts in Rome. A passio-nate lover of music, Ottoboni gave his pro-tection to numerous musicians: Handel, Pas-quini, Scarlatti and Caldara. A few months after his election, Ottoboni took into his ser-vice the famous violinist Arcangelo Corelli. Few years later, when Roger North penned, Corelli’s compositions had become ‘’ to the musitians like the bread of life ‘’. Indeed in England Corelli’s ‘’sonatas cleared the ground of all other sorts of musick what-soever…(and) became the onely musick rel-ished for a long time, and there seems to be no satiety of them, no ris the virtue of them yet exhaled, and it is a question of whether it will ever be spent’’.

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ergolese's Stabat mater is probably one of the most fascinating works in the history of music. Based on a liturgical text of the 13th century,

meditating on the suffering of the Virgin Mary, it quickly became famous throughout Europe. Bach magnified the work of Per-golese without distorting it in his motet "Tilge, Höchster, Meine Sünden", BWV 1083.

To accompany this masterpiece, one of the finest cantata composed by Antonio Vivaldi.

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RECORDINGS

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“Another bright new Baroque group takes the stage...Gilon is an authoritative performer and is well supported by continuo musicians who offer plenty of variety of texture and attack... Ensemble Strava-ganza are clearly talented musicians.”

"Ed ecco che questo disco dell'ensemble Stravaganza, mi riconcilia, in qualche modo, col divino Corelli, in qualche modo umanizzato, non più congelato nella sua ingualcibile eleganza. E questo anche grazie all'idea geniale di associarlo ad un altro compositore suo contemporaneo, Giovanni Reali, attivo a Ve-nezia e a Guastalla all'inizio del '700 – di cui ben poco si sa ed ancor meno si dice nell'interessante li-bretto che accompagna il disco, libretto peraltro ricco di interessanti notizie sugli aspetti più umani della vita di Corelli".

‘’ In Stravanganza's performances, what a wealth of artistry, beauty and variety. They bring intense expressiveness to the slower movements...Some of the finest music of the Baroque period, played with real understanding - I warmly recommend it”

‘’ Cette mise en bouche achevée, on retrouve avec le même bonheur les rivages corelliens, alanguis et so-laires, nimbés de cette douceur à la fois sensuelle et nostalgique dans laquelle on aime se laver. A la ma-nière d’un Enrico Gatti (Arcana) – et cela n’est pas un mince compliment que d’avancer une telle com-paraison – l’Ensemble Stravaganza progresse avec la certitude de l’écume, ce bouillonnement doux et inéluctable.’’

‘’ La grande écoute et l’immense musicalité des musiciens de Stravaganza ‘’

“Bookended between rarities by Reali (including his ‘Follia’) trio sonatas by Corelli receive urbane elo-quent, fastidiously considered performances.”

‘’ Un premier CD très réussi pour l'Ensemble Stravaganza, qui signe ici un très bel hommage à un con-tinent presque inconnu de l'Europe du Nord : l'Allemagne du 17e siècle...”

"L'écoute de l'enregistrement dévoile une interprétation engagée, un instrumentarium aux sonorités lim-pides porté par un continuo mobile et attractif, qui plus est, on sent une certaine verdeur exaltant un Co-relli bondissant, plein de sève... On terminera sur un feu d'artifice, La Folia du même Reali... dont nos jeunes musiciens donnent une ébouriffante exécution. "

“Leur premier CD vient ponctuer un début de parcours plus que prometteur ! Ils nous emmènent à Vienne, à la cour des Habsbourg au XVIIe siècle. Biber, Froberger, Schmelzer et Walther sont de la partie. Le violon revêt ses plus beaux atours et la musique brille de tous ses feux !”

‘’Sous l'impulsion du claveciniste Thomas Soltani (entre autres), le jeune ensemble français Strava-ganza éblouit littéralement dans ce programme audacieux, exigeant, musicalement virtuose...’’

Artistic direction : Domitille Gilon & Thomas Soltani www.ensemble-stravaganza.com Mail : contact@ensemble-stravaganza.com | soltanithomas@hotmail.com Mob : +33 (0) 6 52 06 84 67 © Bernard Martinez. Natacha Colmez

© Natacha Colmez