During the early 18th century, several fine European composers became very successful musicians and went on to earn lasting fame and respect for their work. Even though they lived in different countries, several of them did meet, and others corresponded with each other. Ensemble Chaconne (Peter H. Bloom, baroque flute; Olav Chris Henriksen, baroque lute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba) will play music by composers renowned in their own countries and well known by reputation in other lands: a Concert Royale by François Couperin, an early flute sonata by Georg Frideric Handel, and even a lute concerto by Antonio Vivaldi. There will be some lute works by the great lute virtuoso Sylvius Leopold Weiss, and a beautiful fantasia for solo viola da gamba by Georg Philipp Telemann. Finally, there will be a flute sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach, who knew Weiss and Telemann, and was familiar with the other composers’ works, corresponding with some of them.
Founded in 1985, Ensemble Chaconne is dedicated to vivid, historically informed performances of renaissance and baroque music on period instruments. The group concertizes widely, with tours in the U.S. and abroad, including performances for The National Gallery in London, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, Connecticut Early Music Festival, and The National Music Museum in Vermillion SD, to name a few. Classical Voice of North Carolina called the group “a powerhouse of great playing.” Ensemble Chaconne’s CD “Measure for Measure: the Music of Shakespeare’s Plays” was hailed for “vitality and character…style and verve” (MusicWeb International).
