When Francesco Bartolomeo Conti arrived in Vienna in 1701 at the age of twenty, he quickly found a position as theorbo player at the Imperial Court orchestra. His virtuoso skills on the plucked instruments of the time must have been considerable and were sufficient to assure him of a good income. But beyond this, Conti was a remarkable creative spirit. Upon his death in 1732, he left an impressive number of staged works behind, several of which were quite well known. This was not least thanks to their original and imaginative instrumentation, ranging from the extremely comical to subtle vocal-instrumental dialogues, thus embracing the entire world of "affect". Led by soprano and harpist Hana Blažíková and countertenor Valer Sabadus and accompanied by ensemble nuovo aspetto under the direction of theorbo player Michael Dücker, the present production is a small musical anthology whose fascinating content is 300 years young.
“…A must for plucked instrument players! Likewise for baroque lovers who would like to learn something about the sound fantasy of the Viennese court orchestra around 1720. Clearly recommended!”
Thomas Baack – klassik-heute.de – 19 February 2024
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Manuel Brug – Rondo magazine (Germany) – January 2024
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