"Il Giardino Armonico are as Italian as the music itself… brightly coloured, individualistic, confident, stylish, arrestingly decorated, bubbling with enthusiasm." Gramophone
Multi award-winning period performance ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, led by the charismatic and inspiring Giovanni Antonini, make their first appearance on the newly invigorated L'Oiseau Lyre label with a wonderful new recording of Handel's 12 Concerti Grossi op. 6 to mark the composer's anniversary year (2009).
Handel's Concerti Grossi, op. 6 are one of the pillars of Baroque orchestral music. Il Giardino Armonico takes a characteristically dramatic and instinctively Italian view of the music (Handel did after all hone his compositional skills in Italy before settling in England). The group hopes to reclaim Handel for Italy by exploring some of the unique qualities that their native temperament can bring to the music.
Il Giardino Armonico's pioneering approach to Baroque music has garnered many plaudits, and their ground-breaking Four Seasons was revolutionary: "I have reviewed more than 40 versions of The Four Seasons over the years, but a few of the recent ones have still managed to bring ear-catching freshness to them - and none more than this one." Gramophone on The Four Seasons. Their famous collaboration with Cecilia Bartoli in 'The Vivaldi Album' was an unprecedented success and brought lesser known music by this Italian master to millions.
The collaboration with Il Giardino Armonico is set to continue in April 2009 with the release of Baroque masterpieces on the theme of The Virgin's Lament. The key work on this new disc is Il Pianto di Maria, performed by Bernada Fink.
