The ensemble Le Concert Brisé, led by William Dongois, aims for a natural and lively performance by using musicology to understand the spirit of the music and incorporating improvisation techniques from jazz and traditional music.
Composer Biography
Giovanni Battista Fontana, an outstanding violinist, died of the plague in Padua in 1630, and his works were published posthumously.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Giovanni Gabrieli's music, though known for its polychoral works, is very versatile, including sonatas, madrigals, motets, and canzonas for 4 to 22 parts.
Composer Biography
Giovanni Gabrieli, one of the best-known Venetian composers of the late 16th century, was trained by his uncle Andrea Gabrieli, the first organist at San Marco.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Fontana's sonatas are not contrapuntally complex but are more extroverted, with a cantabile quality and inserted recitatives that make them suitable for church, stage, and chamber.
Performer Biography
William Dongois, the cornett player and director of Le Concert Brisé, studied trumpet and later specialized in the cornett, performing with numerous ensembles and winning awards.
Composition History
Giovanni Battista Fontana's collection of 18 sonatas, published in 1641, is an important testament to the origin of the sonata genre.
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