Viol Consort

John Jenkins (1592-1678) is perhaps the most popular English composer of the great golden era of music for multiple viols, ranging from William Cornyshe in 1520 through to Henry Purcell in 1680. The reason why is not hard to fathom: a rare melodic gift is married to an exceptionally deep understanding of harmony and modulation, and effortless counterpoint gives each part an equal voice in the musical conversation.

Viola da gamba player Vittorio Ghielmi is the founder of the viol consort Il Suonar Parlante, which plays Purcell's Fantazias of Four Parts, mostly written in 1680. At that time, the viol was on the way to being considered an archaic instrument, having been largely replaced by the fretless members of the violin family. A consort of viols, though, was still the most convenient ensemble for playing contrapuntal music, and Purcell needed an outlet for adventurous self-expression as a break from his duties of writing conventional dance music for King Charles II. The fantasias he wrote are indeed very odd, particularly in their chromatic harmonies, many of which would not reappear with regularity in the Western musical vocabulary until the twentieth century.

The viol consort Les Escapades takes the listener on a journey through a wondrous night with its dreams and visions. In the mild light of the moon, thoughts fly and we meet dream creatures and fairies in the nocturnal entourage from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Music from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Impressionist periods will be heard, some of which the ensemble has arranged especially for itself. For example, Gabriel Faure's famous "Apres un rIve" or Claude Debussy's "RIverie" are performed in a completely new and unusual sound, played on the delicate gut strings of a baroque viol consort.