Event programme

In the Kingdom of Parthenope
(Neapolitan Baroque Concertos)
Concert for the European Day of Early Music

With the relocation of the Seviqc residency programme to Celje, new conditions have been established for the development and positioning of early music within both the local and national context. The programme for the development of early music in Slovenia is thus further enhanced by a special concert marking the European Day of Early Music (EDEM), which establishes Celje as a new conceptual and symbolic centre of this international occasion. At Ars Ramovš, the artistic conception of the programme was entrusted to the outstanding artist Maruša Brezavšček, whose choice of ensemble and repertoire also consciously follows the development-oriented approach of Seviqc Collegiumartis, focused on connecting leading Slovenian and international specialists in early music.

From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, when Naples was first under Spanish and later Austrian rule, the Kingdom of Naples flourished as one of Europe’s leading cultural and musical centres—no less important than Venice. It was precisely during this period that prominent humanists shaped the image of Naples as a “kingdom of music”, symbolised by the mythological siren Parthenope. After failing to entice Odysseus, she cast herself into the sea and was washed ashore at the place where Naples was later said to have arisen, becoming an emblem of the city’s musical identity. It was here that the recorder also experienced its golden age: renowned composers wrote more than a hundred works for the instrument, including concertos with string accompaniment and basso continuo, allowing the recorder to fully display its virtuoso and expressive potential. The programme brings together recorder concertos and trio sonatas for two violins and basso continuo by major Neapolitan composers—Alessandro Scarlatti, Francesco Mancini, Leonardo Leo and Nicola Fiorenza. The concert opens with a trio sonata by the Baroque master Johann Sebastian Bach, who admired the Italian musical style, studied it closely, and arranged many such works himself. With this event, we join the celebrations marking Bach’s birthday and thus conclude the European Day of Early Music within the Seviqc programme. The Neapolitan Baroque repertoire and the selected concertos for recorder and strings presented here remain largely unknown in Slovenia, having been performed only rarely—or not at all—in this context. Based on recent research into Neapolitan musical archives, the programme reveals works distinguished by their vivid musical rhetoric and rich affective palette—qualities that go beyond mere virtuosity and enable deep, direct communication with the audience. Historically informed interpretation plays a crucial role in this process, offering listeners not only the discovery of a valuable repertoire but also an authentic experience of the musical heritage of Baroque Naples.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): 
Trio Sonata (BWV 1039)
Adagio / Allegro ma non presto

Francesco Mancini (1672-1737): 
Sonata Decima Nona 
Allegrissimo / Larghetto / Fuga / Moderato / Allegro
(Concerti di flauto violini, violetta, e basso di diversi autori, 1725)

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725): 
Toccata seconda 
(Primo e Secondo Libro di Toccate, 1710, 1740)

Nicola Fiorenza (1700-1764): 
Concerto Del Sig. Nicola Fiorenza per Flauto, 2 Violini
Grave / Allegro / Grave / Allegro

Leonardo Leo (1694-1744): 
Trio Sonata (Schrank No. II): 
Adagio / Allegro tempo comodo

Giovanni Battista Mele (1701-1752): 
Sonata Decima Quinta 
Andante / Allegro / Adagio / Allegro
(Concerti di flauto, violini, violetta, e basso di diversi autori, 1725)