Artists

Charles Daniels, tenor

Julie Rivest, violin
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Maximilien Brisson, trombone
Margaret Little, viola da gamba
Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord

Programme

Tonight, we welcome Quebec-born Basel-based Maximilien Brisson to present a concert highlighting the virtuosity and expressive power of the seldom-heard Baroque trombone. His ensembles Lagrime and Le Consort laurentien come together with tenor Charles Daniels to present a poignant programme of Italian and German Baroque repertoire, drawn from Brisson’s recent album Scorrete lagrime mie, which explores the theme of tears through works by Italian Baroque composers such as Barbara Strozzi, Francesca Caccini, and Sigismondo d’India. As a special treat for tonight’s audience, the two ensembles extend this exploration into the German region of Saxony, adding works by composers including Heinrich Schütz and Andreas Hammerschmidt, both active during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648).

A rich mix of vocal and instrumental works, this programme examines how composers from Italy and Saxony approached the expression of tears in music, in times of both turmoil and peace. The ensembles’ distinctive instrumentation – trombone, violin, cornetto, and harpsichord – adds an element of rarity to the evening. Tonight’s performance offers a compelling opportunity to hear Baroque music performed on period instruments by specialists in the field, illuminating one of the most iconic emotional themes of the Baroque era: music of fervor, resilience, and hope.

Artists

Charles Daniels, tenor

Julie Rivest, violin
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Maximilien Brisson, trombone
Margaret Little, viola da gamba
Christophe Gauthier, claviorganum

Programme

In the midst of the Thirty Years’ War, Lutheran composers from Saxony created music that was both spare and deeply expressive. This program presents these works born of adversity, stretched between pain and hope. This programme explores the rich musical heritage of Magdeburg, Leipzig and Dresden, three cultural beacons of Lutheran Germany.

A central figure of this musical landscape, Heinrich Schütz is often called the “father” of German music. Following studies in Venice with Giovanni Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi, he introduced the Lutheran space to the Italian concertato style. This new language, built upon basso continuo and the expressive dialogue between solo voices and instruments, profoundly marks an entire generation of Saxon composers, among whom Johann Hermann Schein, Andreas Hammerschmidt and Samuel Michael, all influenced by this fusion of Italian lyricism and Lutheran rigor.

Lack of musicians, instruments or financial resources; the war brings great hardship to musical practice at the time. But far from limiting the creativity of these composers, these difficulties push them to use extraordinary ingenuity. With reduced musical forces and modest means, they write music of great emotional power, and of remarkably expressive sobriety, where each and every note counts.

For this concert, the Consort laurentien has the pleasure of welcoming two legendary artists: tenor Charles Daniels and violist Margaret Little.

Artists

Charles Daniels, tenor

Julie Rivest, violin
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Maximilien Brisson, trombone
Margaret Little, viola da gamba
Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord

Programme

In the midst of the Thirty Years’ War, Lutheran composers from Saxony created music that was both spare and deeply expressive. This program presents these works born of adversity, stretched between pain and hope. This programme explores the rich musical heritage of Magdeburg, Leipzig and Dresden, three cultural beacons of Lutheran Germany.

A central figure of this musical landscape, Heinrich Schütz is often called the “father” of German music. Following studies in Venice with Giovanni Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi, he introduced the Lutheran space to the Italian concertato style. This new language, built upon basso continuo and the expressive dialogue between solo voices and instruments, profoundly marks an entire generation of Saxon composers, among whom Johann Hermann Schein, Andreas Hammerschmidt and Samuel Michael, all influenced by this fusion of Italian lyricism and Lutheran rigor.

Lack of musicians, instruments or financial resources; the war brings great hardship to musical practice at the time. But far from limiting the creativity of these composers, these difficulties push them to use extraordinary ingenuity. With reduced musical forces and modest means, they write music of great emotional power, and of remarkably expressive sobriety, where each and every note counts.

For this concert, the Consort laurentien has the pleasure of welcoming two legendary artists: tenor Charles Daniels and violist Margaret Little.

Artists

Noémy Gagnon-Lafrenais, violin
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord

Programme

At the Habsburg court, composers such as Schmelzer, Biber, and Muffat invented demanding, intense, and deeply expressive music. The violin became an instrument of passion and experimentation. The rarer cornetto also found its place, discreet, yet full of mystery. This concert is a dive into a repertoire that is both virtuoso and intimate, shot through with contrasts, shadows, and lights.

Artists

Julie Rivest, violin
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Maximilien Brisson, trombone
Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord

Programme

This program is a musical journey through the heart of the Hanseatic League, the network of trading cities that, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century, dominated the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. Behind the brick facades and trading posts, we discover a surprising artistic vitality. From Hamburg to Gdańsk, we invite you to hear the unique works of composers such as Vierdanck, Weckmann, and Scheidemann.

Artistes

Julie Rivest, violoi
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Maximilien Brisson, trombone
Adam Dillon, trombone
Mari-Lou Plante, trombone
Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord

Programme

This program is a musical journey through the heart of the Hanseatic League, the network of trading cities that, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century, dominated the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. Behind the brick facades and trading posts, we discover a surprising artistic vitality. From Hamburg to Gdańsk, we invite you to hear the unique works of composers such as Vierdanck, Weckmann, and Scheidemann.

Artists

Julie Rivest, violin
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Maximilien Brisson, trombone
Christophe Gauthier, organ

Programme

The final concert of our season, Passaggi di Musica, is dedicated to the virtuosic and richly ornamented music of composers working in Milan around the year 1600. You will hear diminutions of Riccardo and Francesco Rognoni and of Giovanni Battista Bovicelli, as well as concertato vocal compositions of Cima and of Suor Claudia Francesca Rusca.

Artists

Julie Rivest, violin
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Maximilien Brisson, trombone
Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord

Programme

Italiani transalpini explores works by Italian musicians who worked outside of their home country, north of the Alps in Germany, Poland, Denmark, or the Habsburg lands. The ubiquity of these composers in the great churches and courts of Europe bears witness to the immense influence of the Italian style across the continent.

Artists

Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord

Programme

In the harpsichord recital Il cembalo fiorito, we rediscover the works for solo keyboard of Italian composers, including those of the Roman Girolamo Frescobaldi and the Venetian Claudio Merulo. Elegance and passion intertwine to offer an unforgettable musical journey into seventeenth-century Italy.

Artists

Julie Rivest, violin
Étienne Asselin, cornetto
Maximilien Brisson, trombone
Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord

Programme

Canzoni e sonate explores the roots of Italian instrumental music. Whether it is the sonatas of Giovanni Paolo Cima or Dario Castello, or the canzoni of Girolamo Frescobaldi, this music makes us travel to a universe full of surprises, where expressivity, gesture and rhetoric are pushed to their extreme.