Hana Blaíková / Bruce Dickey / The Breathtaking Collective Ensemble

• Classical Music

Angels playing music were an extremely popular motif in the Renaissance – often, the heavenly figures sing accompanied by the cornet, an early brass instrument. Cornet virtuoso Bruce Dickey and soprano Hana Blaíková now trace the celestial tonal affinity of voice and instrument, accompanied by the Breathtaking Collective, with such enchantingly beautiful and highly virtuoso music of the 17th century.

Bruce Dickey has completely dedicated himself to rediscovering the cornet. Today, largely disappeared from concert life, the wooden, in most cases crescent-shaped, instrument with a mouthpiece similar to those on trumpets was incredibly popular in the 16th and 17th century, especially in combination with singing. Like a second voice, the cornet ornaments the clear soprano of early music star Hana Blaíková, gets into sensitive dialogue and vies for the most splendid coloraturas and flourishes.

The singer and cornetist, both of whom are regularly on stage with the greats of historical performance practice, such as Sir John Elliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman and Jordi Savall, have put together a fascinating selection of secular and sacred pieces for »On the Breath of Angels«. Accompanied by strings, theorbo, organ and harpsichord, dramatic operatic arias and intimate movements from motets sound. »Breathtaking listening experiences!« enthuses a reviewer of the related album. After this concert, one wonders how and why the cornet could have fallen so much out of fashion.

PERFORMERS

Hana Blaíková soprano

Bruce Dickey cornetto

The Breathtaking Collective ensemble

PROGRAM

»On the Breath of Angels«

Works by Dario Castello, Sigismondo d’India, Niccolò Corradini, Alessandro Scarlatti and others

Dario Castello
Sonata seconda