Nicola Matteis was a famous violinist and outstanding guitarist living in England at the turn of the 18th century. He was a master of both instruments and published playing instructions for both of them. The concert will begin with a delightful selection of Italian and English music, for Matteis was one of the many Italians who brought their style to England and had great influence on the English music scene. The second part of the programme will present masterpieces by Matheis with ornamentations as he himself might have improvised them. You can look forward to two excellent musicians. A feast for all lovers of guitar and violin music.

Baroque party!

Musicians dressed in white will be celebrating together with audiences dressed in white, in the Baroque castle and in the Baroque garden. With a lot of music in various locations, such as the Baroque garden, the barn and the castle. Fine food and drinks will be served at several stalls. A feast for the eyes, ears and palate.

This year music by Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz, as well as by English composers such as John Dowland and Henry Purcell will take centre stage during the Weißenbrunn White Nights. Over 40 singers and musicians will participate in the sumptuous sounds of these Baroque compositions, and many former artists-in-residence will return from all over Europe to make music and celebrate together with the audiences.

Feel free to come dressed in white, maybe in rustic style and suitable for the garden. So some (men?) will not feel left out … you can of course also come in light-coloured clothing, if you simply cannot find anything suitable in your wardrobe.

In the introduction to his impressive treatise on ornamentation, the »Regole, passaggi di musica« of 1594, Giovanni Battista Bovicelli formulated rules for Early Baroque ornamentation techniques. One of the most-quoted statements was that, if you have a good »dispositione«, you will be able to perform even complex and difficult »passagi«. Passagi or passages are those virtuoso ornamentations which in the early 17th century were a challenge, but certainly also a kind of competition for musicians and singers which gave a very special quality to each performance. In this concert, the musicians’ mastery and good disposition will be demonstrated with an unusual combination of instruments: trombone and harpsichord.  A real discovery! In addition, young Spanish harpsichordist, Rafaela Salgado, will play on various original instruments from the collection of Schloss Weißenbrunn Foundation, including the 16th century virignal and a 1699 harpsichord. A feast for the ears and eyes.

»Airs de Cour«, songs accompanied by lute, were extremely popular in 17th century France. It was particulary during the reign of Louis XIII that these songs were often performed at court to entertain company. The concert programme »Les Harlequins« will present characters from the Commedia dell’arte such as the melancholic, the dreamer, the lover or the happy man. The songs themselves deal with a range of affects of amorous passion with a definite preference for naturalistic allusions, offering a wide musical field for lavish vocal and instrumental ornamentation. French court life at Schloss Weißenbrunn. Voilà!

This year’s Christmas concert at Schloss Weißenbrunn will be a cheerful,  swinging affair. Markus Simon is at home in many styles and always manages to thrill his audiences with his singing and piano playing. A marvellous musician.