On Sunday 30 January the Saint-Ismier Church welcomes "L'Ensemble Le Jardin Musical" who, together with 6 guest musicians, will perform Francesco Geminiani's 6 concerti grossi opus 2!!
Francesco Geminiani was probably born in 1680 in Lucca. He studied the violin with Lonati in Milan, then Corelli in Rome. He then studied composition with Scarlatti in Naples. Around 1714, he emigrated to London, where he pursued a career as a virtuoso violinist. We know that he lived in Paris between 1749 and 1755, finally becoming chapel master in Dublin, the city where he died in 1762. His work consists mainly of compositions for violin and cello, along with a teaching book that is still a reference, the art of playing on the violin, and a treatise on composition, guida armonica, o Dizionaro armonico (London 1742). The 6 concerti grossi opus 2, published in 1732 by Walsh in London, were revised in 1757 with the mention printed for the author. The nature of the changes is determined by the influence of the "taste" of baroque music: ornamentation, voice leading, orchestration, playing techniques, etc., making it an important teaching source for the study of this musical era. Geminiani added a solo viola to the concertino and anticipated the classical formation known as the "quartet", well ahead of Corelli or Handel.
Violins: Christine Antoine, Myriam Cambreling, Viviane Burgos, Katia and Laurent Lagresle, Judith Paquet. Violas: Catherine Simon and Anne Dumontier. Cello: Philippe Badin. Theorbo: Cyril Manoury. Harpsichord: Pierre Perdigon. Double bass: Olivier Destéphany.
