Fragments of the Soul

In the Fragments of the Soul concert, the BREZZA ensemble, along with sopranist Maayan Licht, will perform arias and instrumental works by George Frideric Handel. “Handel masterfully captured the full emotional spectrum of human experience, and this programme moves between […] desire, loss, and the transformation of love,” say the artists.

BREZZA specialises in performing early music on original or copied instruments. It particularly prides itself on its mastery of the ancient art of preluding, which we will enjoy during the concert at the NFM. The ensemble won the competition for a musical project based on the theme of the 61st Wratislavia Cantans. Two years ago, the group’s first album, “Rinaldo” a cinque, was released. In addition to performing Handel’s works, the ensemble has also taken on other, always special, challenges – whether it was recombining movements from Georg Philipp Telemann’s suites or the 18th-century musical landscape of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. The sung compositions, performed by the renowned sopranist Maayan Licht, will include arias from operas and oratorios. The cantata Tra le fiamme warns that butterflies are not phoenixes, and that relishing the proximity of a flame can end their lives. The aria from the oratorio Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno (The Triumph of Time and Truth) speaks of the moment of sobering up from the madness of love. The Soft Complaining Flute tells the story of a type of music that particularly moves lovers. Another fragment introduces us to the mythical triangle of Acis, Galatea, and Polyphemus. Finally, Cleopatra’s aria Da tempeste il legno infranto expresses the happiness of fulfilled love. These are the scattered fragments of the soul – images of it – that can be seen in Handel’s work, as in a broken mirror. Also in the overtures and other instrumental fragments that will be performed during the concert.

Programme:

George Frideric Handel
Semele Overture, HWV 58
Improvised prelude
Tra le fiamme – aria from Tra le fiamme, HWV 170
Allegro and Alla gavotta from Ariodante, HWV 33
Air from Theodora, HWV 68
Improvised prelude
Come nembo che fugge col vento – aria from Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, HWV 46a
Agrippina Overture, HWV 6
Improvised Prelude
The soft complaining flute – aria from Ode on St Cecilia, HWV 76
Theodora Overture, HWV 68: Courante
Improvised prelude
Verso già l’alma col sangue – aria from Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, HWV 72
Rondeau from Ariodante, HWV 33
Sinfonia (Largo) from Theodora, HWV 68
Improvised prelude
Da tempeste il legno infranto – aria Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17

Performers:

BREZZA:
Maayan Licht – sopranist
Pablo Gigosos – traverso flute
Marta Ramírez – violin
Marina Cabello del Castillo – viola da gamba
Teun Braken – harpsichord
Pablo FitzGerald – archlute and Baroque guitar
Giacomo Albenga – double bass

Venue: