A DUEL IN VENICE: ANTONIO VIVALDI AND GIOVANNI BATTISTA REALI

Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin), Sophie de Bardonnèche, (violin) Louise Pierrard, (viola da gamba) Hanna Salzenstein, (cello) Justin Taylor (harpsichord)

THEY ARE BETWEEN 23 AND 28 YEARS OLD. THE CONSORT, FOUNDED BY JUSTIN TAYLOR AND THEOTIME LANGLOIS DE SWARTE, IS WITHOUT DOUBT ONE OF THE MOST VIEWED ENSEMBLES OF THE NEW BAROQUE GENERATION.

In the Venetian City, at the very beginning of the 18th century, two genius violinists rub shoulders, Antonio Vivaldi and Giovanni Battista Reali. Vivaldi's talent is already unanimously recognized. He is prolific, inventive, virtuoso and virtuoso. Reali, on the other hand, appears in some accounts as a touchy rival. His trio sonatas, published in 1709, four years after those of Vivaldi, nevertheless demonstrate a unique originality in this repertoire, with a violinistic writing worthy of rivaling that of the great Venetian master. And what about his Folia, which carries the audience - and the musicians! - in a whirlwind that never seems to be able to stop?

It is in this Venice of the 1710s that the musicians of the Consort invite us to travel, between undulating slow movements, hidden surprises of improvised dances, and frenzied follies of the famous carnival.