Ophélie Gaillard, Pulcinella Orchestra
AP274 - 1CD - 78' - Mar 4, 2022
In the 1730s, London became a hub for musical innovation. Geminiani revolutionized instrumental writing, Avison orchestrated Scarlatti’s concertos, and Porpora embraced the cello’s vocality. In this poetic nocturne, Ophélie Gaillard and Pulcinella bring these composers to life, joined by the sublime voices of Sandrine Piau and Lucile Richardot.
In the 1730s, many composers tried their luck in London, where many other treasures were in preparation: Geminiani revolutionised instrumental writing with his famous treatise on interpretation and presented an amazing version of La Folia; his pupil Avison orchestrated concertos by Scarlatti, and Porpora ventured away from opera to rediscover the vocality of the cello with one of the most beautiful concertos of that period. Ophélie Gaillard and Pulcinella treat us to a frenzied and poetic night in London. They meet Geminiani, Hasse, Scottish composer James Oswald and virtuoso cellist Giovanni Battista Cirri. Guest artists Sandrine Piau and Lucile Richardot take on magnificent vocal pieces by Geminiani and Handel – Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni would have been seriously envious, that’s for sure!
1. James Oswald (1710-1769)
She’s sweetest when she’s naked (solo version)
2. Charles Avison (1709-1770)
Concerto Grosso no.5 in D minor (after Domenico Scarlatti, c1743): I. Largo
3. Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762)
Concerto Grosso no.12 in D minor, H.143 ‘La Folia’ (12 Concerti Grossi after Corelli’s Violin Sonatas, 1729)
4. George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Serse, HWV 40 (1738), Act 3: Sinfonia
Nicola Porpora (1686-1768)
Cello Concerto in G major, INP 18
5. I. Adagio
6. II Allegro
7. III. Adagio
8. IV. Allegro – Presto
George Frideric Handel
9. Alcina, HWV 34 (1735), Act 3: “Credete al mio dolore” with Sandrine Piau, soprano
10. Concerto Grosso in B flat major op. 3 no. 2, HWV 313 (c1718): II. Largo in G minor with Gabriel Pidoux, oboe
11. Johann Adolph Hasse (1699-1783)
Fuga e Grave in G minor (Grave – Fuga)
Giovanni Battista Cirri (1724-1808)
Cello Concerto no.2 in G major, op.14, no.2
12. I. Allegro spiritoso
13. II. Largo assai
14. III. Rondo: Allegro
James Oswald
15. The Murrays March
16. My Nanio
17. She’s sweetest when she’s naked (ensemble version)
18. Francesco Geminiani
A Treatise of Good Taste in the Art of Musick (c1749): “The night her silent sable wore” with Lucile Richardot, mezzo
James Oswald
19. The bottom of the punch bowl
Francesco Geminiani
20. A Treatise of Good Taste in the Art of Musick: “Oh Bessy Bell and Mary Gray” with Lucile Richardot, mezzo
George Frideric Handel
21. Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, HWV 76 (1739): “What passion music cannot raise and quell” with Raquel Camarinha, soprano
See also
