Baroque Gems

Each of the three works on this program of Baroque Gems are ideal representations of the Baroque era with performers improvising florid lines over a solid chord structure creating the heavily layered, ornamental essence of the Baroque style. Carlo Farino’s imagination, humor, and daring nature is on display in his Capriccio where each section highlights a different animal from dogs and cats to sheep and hens. In a more traditional Baroque work, the influential Italian composer Vitali’s Ciaccona for two violins and continuo shows off his mastery of counterpoint with ground basses and short repeating chord patterns. Finally, Bach’s famous Cantata Ich habe genug is one of the few Bach cantatas that can qualify as true chamber music. While the text speaks of weariness for the world and a longing for death, the melody contains a sweet lullaby, and a form of pleasing symmetry.