The Irish Baroque Orchestra is performing a series of three concerts at the National Concert Hall’s Kevin Barry Recital Room this October as part of the NCH Chamber Music Series 2017.

The series, titled ‘Prodigies and Premieres, is curated by IBO director Claire Duff and offers three perspectives on Italian Baroque music by famous and prodigious musicians. The series began on 11 October with a concert with mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty exploring work written for famous 18th-century castrati singers.

The second concert on Wednesday 18 October featured the likely Irish premiere of a recently discovered work by Pandolfi Mealli – ‘Sonate’, written in 1669 – which Duff describes as ‘hauntingly beautiful’. The programme explored the violin as a focus for innovation and experimentation in the 17th century, with music by Frescobaldi, Buonamente and Schmelzer. 

Divisions II
The third concert (25 October) explores musical connections between Ireland and Italy, through Corelli sonatas performed with ornamentation by fellow child prodigies Geminiani and Dubourg, who both spent some time in Dublin. It will also present a new work by Irish composer Sean Doherty.

I will break out of my comfort zone of Italian baroque music and perform a world premiere performance of Divisions II, a sonata for unaccompanied baroque violin by Sean Doherty. Sean composed Divisions I for me a few years ago as part of Irish Composers Collective’s Strung Series, and this will also be performed, thus creating a striking contrast to the sound world of ‘the arc-angel’ Corelli.

For the full programmes for the ‘Prodigies and Premieres’ concerts see below. For further information and tickets, visit https://goo.gl/qEqFkT.

Concert 1: 7.30pm11 October 2017
N.Porpora: In braccio a Mille furie from “Semiramis riconosciuta” 
F.M.Veracini: Fugo, o Capriccio con Quattro soggetti for strings and continuo 
N.Porpora: Parto, ti lascio from the opera “Germanico in Germanio” 
A.Vivaldi: Trio sonata in d minor, RV 63 “La Follia” 
A.Vivaldi: Sovvente il sole from “Andromeda Liberata” 
A.Vivaldi: Sonata a 4 ‘al Santo Sepolcro’ RV 130 
R.Broschi: Qual guerriero in campo armato from the opera “Idaspe”  

Concert 2: 7.30pm, 18 October 2017 
Dario Castello (circa 1590- 1658) Sonata X Book 2 
Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli Sonate (Roma 1669)
Il Drago Capriccetto Terzo a 3 
Il Marquetta - Passacaglio a due violini 
Girolamo Kapsberger Libro quarto d’Intavolatura di Chitarone, Roma 1640, Toccata prima
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620–1680) Sonatae Didium Unarum, Sonata no. 4  
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) Capriccio sopra la Bassa Fiamenga (Roma 1624) 
Alessando Piccinini Intavolatura di Liuto et di Chitarrone, Libro primo, Bolonga 1632, Toccata sesta
Giovanni Battista Fontana (1571-1630) Sonata 11 
Giovanni Battista Buonamente (1595 -1642) Sonata 5 book 4 on “Poi Che Noi Rimena”
Tickets

Concert 3: 7.30pm, 25 October 2017
Corelli: Sonata Op. 5 no. 9 (Geminiani embellishments) 
Sean Doherty: DIVISIONS l 
Francesco Geminiani: (1687-1762) - Sonata op. 5 No. 3 in C major for cello and continuo 
Sean Doherty: DIVISIONS ll (world premiere) 
Corelli: Sonata Op. 5 no. 5 (Dubourg embellishments)
Tickets 

This news item is supported by the Irish Baroque Orchestra.