Enchantment and Passion. A Musical Journey from Purcell to Debussy – Organized by the Musical Association Reggina

The Sala Baldini, located in the Rione Campitelli, hosts the concert Enchantment and Passion. A musical journey from Purcell to Debussy, featuring Maestro Alberto Vitolo on cello and Gabriele Aleo on piano. The evening, curated by the Musical Association Reggina Domenico Scarlatti, is a sort of sonic journey through the centuries, beginning with the rigorous structures of the early eighteenth century and culminating in the dreamlike atmospheres of late nineteenth-century France.

The concert, an event of exceptional artistic value, focuses on the instrument used by Maestro Vitolo, a cello “da spalla”, built by the luthier Alessandro Visintini. This rare instrument, characterized by its smaller size compared to the traditional cello and played "a spalla" with a shoulder strap, represents a historical and cultural bridge connecting us to Baroque performance practice.

The concert opens with the Gigue from Johann Sebastian Bach's Suite II for Cello Solo in D minor, BWV 1008, a piece that immediately highlights the technical potential of the violoncello “da spalla”. This is followed by deeply powerful pieces such as the famous Dido's lament from Henry Purcell's masterpiece Dido and Aeneas, and Vivaldi's virtuosic aria Vedrò con mio diletto from his opera Il Giustino. The Baroque section ends with the Prelude and Gigue from Arcangelo Corelli's Sonata, Op. 5, No. 8, a cornerstone of the Roman violin school.

The instrument also takes centre stage in the second part of the concert, showing us how the cello “da spalla”'s sound can adapt perfectly to more modern and introspective idioms. It opens with the melody from Niccolò Paganini's Cantabile, Op. 17, followed by Franz Schubert's celebrated Ständchen (Serenade), where the string instrument shows its full potential.

The final part of the concert is dedicated to the end of 19th – and the beginning of 20th-century music and its key exponents, such as Gabriel Fauré, Sergei Rachmaninov, and Claude Debussy. Fauré's dreamlike Après un rêve, is on program, while by Rachmaninov the famous Vocalise, a piece which, without lyrics in its original version for voice, finds in the cello an interpreter able of conveying its melancholy.

The finale, meanwhile, is entrusted to the nocturnal charm of Debussy's Claire de lune, one of his most beloved and celebrated compositions.

Historical research shows that between the 17th and the first half of the 18th century, the violoncello “da spalla” was very popular because it offered violinists the ability to cover the bass line or perform solo parts without completely changing their technical setup. Several composers wrote sonatas and concertos for the violoncello “da spalla”, which was widely used as an obbligato instrument in church and chamber cantata arias. Northern Italian cellists/violinists, who traveled throughout Europe, also left a deep mark on Catalan musical culture. The rare original examples that have survived to this day, such as those made by Johann Christian Hoffman - Basket's trusted violin maker -are preserved in museums in Leipzig, Brussels, and Berkeley. Attending a concert featuring this instrument is therefore a unique experience, capable of rediscovering a forgotten yet fundamental chapter in musical history.

PROGRAM

J.S. Bach – Gigue from the II Suite for cello solo in D minor BWV 1008

H. Purcell – Didos' Lament from Dido and Aeneas

A. Vivaldi – Vedrò con mio diletto from Il Giustino

A. Corelli – from the Sonata op.5 n.8 – Prelude and Giga

N. Paganini – Cantabile op.17

F.Schubert – Ständchen (Serenade) D 889

G.Faurè – Après un rêve op.7 n.1

S.Rachmaninov – Vocalise Op.34 n.14

F.Kreisler – Schön Rosmarin, Old Viennese Dance No. 3

Alberto Vitolo, shoulder cello

Gabriele Aleo, harpsichord and piano

Photo: official poster of the event