Harpsichordist and guest director Francesco Corti makes Tafelmusik debut.

Harpsichordist and guest director Francesco Corti makes Tafelmusik debut.

Bach’s Library
Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre

March 3 -5, 2023

Tickets: http://tafelmusik.org/library-vci

Peek into the library of J.S. Bach, featuring an elegant suite, virtuoso harpsichord concertos, and music by those who inspired him.

Making his Tafelmusik debut this season is harpsichord soloist and director Francesco Corti, “a powerhouse of unbridled vivacity, exciting and excitable in equal measure” (BBC Music Magazine). Corti leads the orchestra in a fascinating program of music by J. S. Bach and those who inspired him, including Steffani and Zelenka—composers whose manuscripts were found to be part of his personal library.

Making his Tafelmusik debut this season as guest director is harpsichordist Francesco Corti, “a powerhouse of unbridled vivacity, exciting and excitable in equal measure” (BBC Music Magazine). Corti leads the orchestra in Bach’s Library, a fascinating program of music by J. S. Bach and those who inspired him, including Steffani, Hasse, and Zelenka—composers whose manuscripts would have been part of his personal library. The concertstake place at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre on Mar 3 at 8pm, Mar 4 at 2pm, and Mar 5 at 3pm. The concert will be filmed for future digital broadcast. 

In addition to his recently assumed role as Music Director of the Drottningholm Royal Court Theatre in Stockholm, Corti is principal guest director of Il Pomo d’Oroand regularly directs Les Musiciens du Louvre. Acclaimed for his exhilarating artistry, Corti can “make the harpsichord sing … but he can also make it massive, like an organ or an orchestra. He shows a fantastic brilliance of hand … and he can switch to simple elegance and refinement for French-style allemandes and courantes” (Gramophone). 

At the heart of this concert are three works by Bach himself: the elegant Orchestral Suite no 1 in C Major, featuring Tafelmusik’s superb wind players, the imposing Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, and the brilliant Harpsichord Concerto in D Major. Works by other composers who inspired Bach include the Ouverture to Orlando generoso by Steffani, the Sinfonia in G Minor, op. 5 no. 6 by Hasse, and the Ouverture a 7 in F Major by Zelenka. 

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