Founded in 1997 and named after the flame-haired priest Antonio Vivaldi, Red Priest has given several hundred sold-out concerts in many of the world's most prestigious halls and festivals. It is the only early music group in the world to have been compared in the press to the Rolling Stones, Jackson Pollock, the Marx Brothers, Spike Jones and the Cirque du Soleil. This extraordinary acoustic foursome has been described by music critics as 'visionary and heretical', 'outrageous yet compulsive', 'wholly irreverent and highly enlightened', 'completely wild and deeply imaginative', with a 'red-hot wicked sense of humour' and a 'break-all-rules, rock-chamber concert approach to early music'.
Its musicians have redefined the art of period performance, creating a virtual orchestra through their creative arrangements, performing from memory with swashbuckling virtuosity, heart-on-sleeve emotion and compelling stagecraft. Their repertoire ranges from obscure 17th century sonatas to the most famous works of Bach and Vivaldi, all presented in imaginative programs with filmic titles: 'Priest on the Run', 'Nightmare in Venice', 'Pirates of the Baroque', 'Johann, I'm Only Dancing'.
Program:
HANDEL IN THE WIND
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL (1685-1759)
The Messiah Suite: Part 1
Overture - Comfort Ye - Every Valley
GEORG PHILLIP TELEMANN (1681-1767)
Gypsy Sonata in A minor
Largo – Vivace – Affetuoso - Allegro
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL
Prelude, Largo and Passacaglia
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL
The Messiah Suite: Part 2
Shepherds and Angels – Eternal Source of Light – The Jaws of Darkness – The Recorder Shall Sound
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL
Aria in D
The Harmonious Blacksmith Variations
INTERMISSION
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565)
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL
Recorder Sonata in B Minor ("Fitzwilliam")
Largo–Vivace–Furioso–Adagio–Alla Breve
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH/O’CAROLAN/DOW/TRAD (arr. GREENBERG)
"Bach on G"
Prelude–Allegro–Poppy Leaf Hornpipe–The Princess Royal Hornpipe I & II–Miss Charters' Reel
GEORG FREDERICK HANDEL
The Messiah Suite: Part 3
Siciliano – Why do the Nations? – Breaking the Bonds – The Potter’s Vessel – Hallelujah
Red Priest appears by arrangement with Lisa Sapinkopf Artists, www.chambermuse.com
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