14 March 2024

Old block new kids

I'd never heard of La Capella Galante before and the performers were a mix of local celebrities and some that were new to me.  Suchlike for the music.  They play music somewhere around the late C18th and with mandolin.  It's a delightful era, dancey, entertaining, and perhaps the mandolin highlights this aspect.  I chatted with John about music including mandolin and he suggested they used whatever was available at that time.  The composers were somewhat known, Albinoni, Cimarosa  and Scarlatti and also Mozart, but some were quite obscure, Cocchi and Conforto were new to me.  The mix of players changed, too, almost for every piece, from soprano and mandolin through trio and quartet and the like up to the full septet, with harpsichord, 3xstrings, 2xmandolins and singer/drum.  Quite a mix and quite a varying sound and unisual given the mandolin/s.  I enjoyed it lots.  Strangely, each time I counted the time signature I got 3/4, suggesting waltz/dance to me, but maybe that was just a function of when I counted.   Whatever, I found it wonderfully inviting and lively even if the Mozart song in German was a mystery.   A lovely outing!

La Capella Galante performed at Wesley.  CP variously comprised Craig Greening (mandolin), John Ma (violin), Tanya Boag (violin), Gabriel Fromyhr (cello), Ariana Odermatt (harpsichord), Kelly O'Hara (soprano) and Larry Mays (mandolin).

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