VI Concerti Armonici by Mike Fentross

Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer

Mike Fentross | La Sfera Armoniosa

VI Concerti Armonici

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917295528
Catnr: CC 72955
Release date: 28 September 2023
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917295528

Catalogue number
CC 72955

Release date
28 September 2023

"...the performance here by the Sfera Armoniosa does a fine job of bringing out the drama in the music. The players are closely in tune with each other, literally and figuratively, as well as knowing how to avoid any sort of mechanical sameness through adroit phrasing. The tempos chosen by conductor Mike Fentross are perfect. In short, this may be a live recording, but it could well have been done in a studio insofar as the musical ambiance is concerned. If you don't have these concerti grossi in your collection, this is the one recording that will be a good addition. Well worth obtaining."

Fanfare Magazine, 01-3-2024

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer (1692-1766) is one of the most remarkable personalities in Dutch music history. Until 1980, his music - the six ‘Concerti armonici’ - was well known to every lover of early music, but not his name. These works were universally understood to be by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi or by Carlo Ricciotti, who published them in 1740 but did not compose them. Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer was well known to Dutch historians as a descendant of the renowned noble Van Wassenaer family, but nobody knew that he was also a composer. Thanks to a lucky find by the Dutch musicologist Albert Dunning in 1980, man and music could be connected with one another. In 1740, a collection of six concertos for strings and basso continuo, was published in The Hague under the title VI Concerti armonici. The Concerti armonici can be associated with musical performances that took place in the 1720s in The Hague.

Het nieuwe album van Mike Fentross en zijn ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa is het derde deel uit de serie Hollandse Meesters. Een overzicht van de belangrijkste barokke orkestwerken van vergeten Nederlandse componisten uit de 17e en 18e eeuw. Hier gaat het om een live opname van zes concerti in Italiaanse stijl van de Nederlandse componist Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer. Een prachtig album met een mooie mengeling van gedragen en opgewekte muziek, een genot om naar te luisteren.

Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer (1692-1766) was een van de opmerkelijkste persoonlijkheden uit de Nederlandse muziekgeschiedenis. Hij was bij Nederlandse historici bekend als afstammeling van de vermaarde adellijke familie Van Wassenaer, maar niemand wist dat hij ook componist was. Het leven van Unico, zoon van Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, verliep zoals je van een achttiende-eeuwse edelman in de Republiek mag verwachten. Hij groeide op in Den Haag en had daar ook muziekles. De zomers bracht hij waarschijnlijk veelal door op Kasteel Twickel, het familieverblijf in Overijssel. Vanaf 1723 kreeg hij steeds vaker officiële functies.

Unico schreef zijn muziek anoniem. In 1740 verscheen in Den Haag een verzameling van zes concerten voor strijkers en basso continuo, in zeven delen - vier violen, altviool, cello en basso continuo - onder de titel 'VI Concerti Armonici'. Gezien de stijl werden de concerti, bekend bij elke liefhebber van oude muziek, toegeschreven aan Giovanni Battista Pergolesi of Carlo Ricciotti, die de concerti in 1740 wel publiceerde maar niet componeerde.

Dankzij een gelukkige vondst van de Nederlandse musicoloog Albert Dunning in 1980 konden mens en muziek met elkaar in verband worden gebracht. Het was een heuse Nederlander die de stukken schreef. De Concerti Armonici konden worden geassocieerd met muzikale uitvoeringen die plaatsvonden in de jaren 1720 in Den Haag.

La Sfera Armoniosa is een barokensemble zonder vaste bezetting. In de kern zitten oprichters Mike Fentross en Paulina van Laarhoven. Het ensemble is gespecialiseerd in het uitvoeren van 17e en 18e eeuwse muziek en stelt op maat gemaakte programma’s samen aan de hand van de gewenste bezettingen. Doordat La Sfera Armoniosa niet vast zit aan één vorm, hebben ze al verschillende bijzondere programma’s gemaakt in samenwerking met topmusici van over de hele wereld. La Sfera Armoniosa zoekt vaak juist naar het experiment door bijvoorbeeld samen te werken met musici uit andere vakgebieden.

De eerdere albums in de serie Hollandse Meesters van La Sfera Armoniosa zijn gewijd aan Willem de Fesch en Pieter Hellendaal.
De muziek van ‘VI Concerti Armonici’, is opgenomen en uitgevoerd op nationale en internationale concertpodia.
Het album is onderdeel van de Nederlandse campagne ‘Aangenaam Klassiek’ 2023.

Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer (1692-1766) ist eine der bemerkenswertesten Persönlichkeiten der niederländischen Musikgeschichte. Bis 1980 war seine Musik - die sechs "Concerti armonici" - jedem Liebhaber alter Musik bekannt, nicht aber sein Name. Diese Werke wurden allgemein als Werke von Giovanni Battista Pergolesi oder von Carlo Ricciotti angesehen, der sie 1740 veröffentlichte, aber nicht komponierte. Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer war den niederländischen Historikern als Nachkomme der berühmten Adelsfamilie Van Wassenaer gut bekannt, aber niemand wusste, dass er auch ein Komponist war. Dank eines glücklichen Fundes des niederländischen Musikwissenschaftlers Albert Dunning im Jahr 1980 konnten Mensch und Musik miteinander in Verbindung gebracht werden. Im Jahr 1740 wurde in Den Haag eine Sammlung von sechs Konzerten für Streicher und Basso continuo unter dem Titel VI Concerti armonici veröffentlicht. Die Concerti armonici können mit musikalischen Aufführungen in Verbindung gebracht werden, die in den 1720er Jahren in Den Haag stattfanden.

Artist(s)

Mike Fentross (theorbo)

Conductor/lutenist Mike Fentross has largely earned his credits as an early music specialist. He is working all over Europe as a conductor, soloist and basso continuo player and he is professor of lute and basso continuo at the Royal Conservatory The Hague. In 2006 he founded the baroque orchestra La Sfera Armoniosa. Mike Fentross conducted in many festivals and concerthalls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. the Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Paradiso Amsterdam, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Brugge, Vantaa Early Music Festival, Bayreuth Barock and Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. For two times he had the honour to conduct in the presence of Queen Beatrix of Holland. In...

Mike Fentross conducted in many festivals and concerthalls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. the Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Paradiso Amsterdam, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Brugge, Vantaa Early Music Festival, Bayreuth Barock and Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. For two times

he had the honour to conduct in the presence of Queen Beatrix of Holland. In 1988 Mike Fentross graduated at the Royal Conservatory The Hague where he studied with lute pionier Toyohiko Satoh. In 1994 he won the Van Wassenaer Competition in Amsterdam with violinist Helene Schmitt. He played chamber music with musicians as Yo Yo Ma, Ton Koopman, Janine Jansen, Marion Verbruggen, Sonia Prina, Maria Bajo, Wilbert Hazelzet, Bruce Dickey, Lucy van Dael, Andrew Lawrence King, Philippe Jarousski, Eduardo Lopez Banzo, Skip Sempe and Gerard Lesne. Mike has recorded more than 75 cd’s.

He studied conducting with Stefan Pas. As conductor he debuted in 1999 with La Dafne from Marco da Gagliano in a production of the New Opera Academie in Amsterdam. In 2006 he conducted in the presence of Queen Beatrix the modern world premiere from the opera l’Ipermestra from Cavalli in a prestigeous jubilee production from the Utrecht Early Music Festival and in 2008 he conducted a second unearthed Cavalli opera La Rosinda in a production from the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci Potsdam. In 2009 he conducted for the first time in the big hall from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and in the same year he was musical director in the production Granida performed in the presence of Queen Beatrix. About his debut as conductor from the Dutch Chamber Choir in 2010 in the Concertgebouw the press wrote: Conductor Mike Fentross rivalled Caravaggio with the score of the Maria Vespers. His first time conducting the Nederlands Kamerkoor was a resounding success.

Mike doesn’t only conduct Early Music, in 2004 he conducted Pierrot Lunaire from Arnold Schoenberg. The press wrote: There was great enthusiasm for Mike Fentross as conductor of a double bill consisting of Monteverdi’s Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire. Mike Fentross gave a performance of Pierrot lunaire that ‘appeared to come from another planet’.

In 2012 Mike made his Austrian debut in the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt with great success in a program with coloratura soprano Simone Kermes and in the same year he conducted the pre jubilee concert for the Concertgebouw in a program with solo violinist Lucy van Dael and singers Henk Neven and Andreas Scholl. In 2013 he conducted the Fairy Queen with his orchestra and the Netherlands Chamberchoir.

Since 2013 he is regularly conducting the baroque orchestra and choir of the Royal Conservatory. In 2014 he was invited by Paradiso Orchestra to conduct Beethovens Eroica. In 2016 he conducted the Netherlands Chamber Choir in a Bach, Faure program live broadcast on national radio.

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La Sfera Armoniosa

La Sfera Armoniosa, founded in 1992, is a Dutch Baroque ensemble and orchestra specialized in the performance of music from the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Artistic director and conductor is Mike Fentross. In addition to the music of famous composers such as Monteverdi, Haendel and Vivaldi, the ensemble undertakes research into the manuscripts and printed works of the European libraries in order to provide a rich spectrum of music from lesser known composers. The English music magazine Gramophone wrote about their first cd: “How soon will we hear the enchanting La Sfera Armoniosa again, and what fresh buried treasure will they unearth?” La Sfera Armoniosa is known and praised for it’s lively and colourful sound and for its groundbreaking programmes. They created in 2004 a Schoenberg/ Monteverdi programme that they performed with great success in the Utrecht Early Music Festival and they performed modern world premiers from three almost forgotten opera’s: La Rosinda, l’Ipermestra and Granida. In 2012 the Concertgebouw asked La Sfera to design and perform a special program, the Amsterdam musical life before the concerthall was build, for their 125th anniversary.
La Sfera Armoniosa performed in main festivals and concert halls such as: Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Music Center Vredenburg, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Monteverdi festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Bruges, and the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam.
About their performance of the opera La Rosinda by Francesco Cavalli in Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci the press wrote: "This evening, the orchestra has proven that it is amongst the leading baroque orchestras. I will not soon forget the nuances that came from the orchestra pit. That was great art. Nothing more and nothing less."

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Composer(s)

Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer

Press

...the performance here by the Sfera Armoniosa does a fine job of bringing out the drama in the music. The players are closely in tune with each other, literally and figuratively, as well as knowing how to avoid any sort of mechanical sameness through adroit phrasing. The tempos chosen by conductor Mike Fentross are perfect. In short, this may be a live recording, but it could well have been done in a studio insofar as the musical ambiance is concerned. If you don't have these concerti grossi in your collection, this is the one recording that will be a good addition. Well worth obtaining.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-3-2024

With deep resonant chords from Mike Fentross' theobro, La Sfera Armonioso begins Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer's Concerto No. 1. This mournful Grave movement shortly gives way to a lively Allegro and we're off to the races. And wow, such nice capture of timbre, dynamics and air Bert van der Wolf has achieved in this live performance recording.
Positive Feedback, 28-1-2024

Joining them is Mike Fentross, conductor and string player (theorbo and baroque guitar), who gives a beautifully balanced interpretation with his ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa: in the slow parts, which usually have the designation grave, largo and andante, warm and sensitive, in the faster parts, such as an allegro, presto or vivace, energetic and swinging.
Luister, 01-12-2023

The ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa under the direction of Mike Fentross plays the Concerti for strings and basso continuo with great dedication and elegance. All the musicians seem to be aware that von Wassenaer’s music is something very special. The wonderful playing of the ensemble does justice to the quality of the music at every moment.
Pizzicato, 15-10-2023