Led by French violinist Amandine Beyer, Gli Incogniti (“The Unknowns”) is one of the most exciting baroque ensembles today. For nearly 20 years, the group has mixed rigorous musicological research with astonishing technique to shed new light onto 17th- and 18th-century music.
For their newest album, Gli Incogniti explores the Italian influences on Johann Sebastian Bach. Titled “Bach from Italy,” the two-disc set pairs six of Bach’s concertos, including three of his Brandenburg Concertos, with music by three Italian contemporaries he admired: Antonio Vivaldi, plus the brothers Alessandro and Benedetto Marcello.
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Unlike many German composers of his time, Bach never got to study in Italy. Instead, he painstakingly copied whatever Italian scores he could get his hands on, note by note, to learn what made them work. This included Vivaldi’s famous concerto for four violins, as well as an obscure oboe concerto by Alessandro Marcello that Bach made famous through his own arrangement.
All of the pieces receive lean and riveting performances from Gli Incogniti, with exemplary solo work from virtually everyone in the ensemble. It’s a fresh look at some familiar and less-familiar repertoire, and it’s out now under the Harmonia Mundi label.
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