Chiara Cordelia

The violinist Chiara Zanisi works with the finest early music ensembles, notably the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra under Ton Koopman, with whom she has just finished a long tour performing the Six Brandenburg Concertos. She now devotes her first solo recording to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Six Sonatas for Harpsichord and Violin. Alongside her is Giulia Nuti, among the most brilliant harpsichordists and scholars in Italy, whose solo CD Les Sauvages: Harpsichords in pre-Revolutionary Paris (DHM) won a Diapason d’Or, among other awards. The kernel from which this project grew is their strongly shared idea that, in addition to great stylistic richness and invention, Bach’s music possesses an aura of magic and an almost divine form.

Immensely popular during his time and maintaining their appeal today, Corelli's 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, are among the gold standard for the form. They are divided into two sections, one being six concerti da camera and the other being six concerti da chiesa. The informatively written liner notes for this Harmonia Mundi album describe the potentially immense orchestra (for the time) that Corelli may have employed for his performances; this recording, however, uses more modest numbers, taking into account the different needs for the "da Camera" and "da Chiesa" concerti. French-based Ensemble 415 (which takes its name from a common Baroque tuning frequency) is led by its founder, violinist Chiara Banchini.

Chiara Massini has been a star of concerts and musical festivals throughout the world for over a decade and wherever she goes she plays to both public and critical acclaim.
The press has written of her: “She has revealed herself as an exceptional artistic personality who brings selected works to life with ingenious liberties, her rubato is executed with stylistic certainty and sheer delight.”