Zefiro and Alfredo Bernardini – Grand Tour a Venezia (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Like many education-hungry sons of the European nobility, the 18-year-old Prince Frederick August II embarked on his Grand Tour, which took him from Saxony to Venice in 1716, where he spent almost a year. The large entourage that accompanied the young prince on this trip included such great musicians as the violinist Johann Georg Pisendel, the oboist Johann Christian Richter and the composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. In Venice, an intense exchange with local stars such as Vivaldi developed, in an atmosphere of friendship and competition. On his return to Dresden, August took with him, in addition to Lotti and Veracini, Heinichen, whom he had met in Venice and who became his Kapellmeister. After acclaimed recordings of orchestral works by Handel and Bach, Zefiro now discovers this fascinating repertoire of music by Italians who composed in the French style and Germans who wrote Venetian concertos to impress the prince.

Recorded in the inspiring setting of the Teatro Scientifico Bibiena in Mantua, Italy, this joyful recording gets off to a flying start with Francesco Maria Veracini’s Ouverture in G minor (Suite for orchestra), conducted at rapid speed by oboist Alfredo Bernardini (who’s also the musical director of the excellent musicians that form the Zefiro ensemble).

This attractive programme of Italian and German composers perfectly illustrates the ‘grand tour’ that well-born individuals took through Italy at the time. This increased international travel saw the young Elector of Saxony and future King of Poland, Frederick Augustus II, arrive in Venice with his court’s finest musicians to perfect their skills with the great musicians of the Serenissima.

The resulting mix of German, French and Italian styles would create a form of baroque music – soon to be known as rococo – which would soon spread throughout Europe. Composers such as Pisendel, Heinichen, and Zelenka maintained their signature sound alongside their Italian contemporaries, Veracini and Vivaldi. One can only admire such quintessentially European music. – François Hudry

Tracklist:
1. Zefiro – I: Allegro (03:26)
2. Zefiro – II. Largo (02:17)
3. Zefiro – III. Allegro (02:30)
4. Zefiro – IV. Menuet (01:37)
5. Cecilia Bernardini – I. Vivace – Largo – Vivace (05:38)
6. Cecilia Bernardini – II. Andante (02:52)
7. Cecilia Bernardini – III. Allegro (04:15)
8. Zefiro – I. [Ouverture] (03:26)
9. Zefiro – II. [Sarabande] (01:02)
10. Zefiro – III. [Passepied] (01:02)
11. Alfredo Bernardini – I. Vivace (02:33)
12. Alfredo Bernardini – II. Adagio (02:19)
13. Alfredo Bernardini – III. Allegro (03:02)
14. Zefiro – I. Ouverture (Grave – Allegro – Grave) (07:40)
15. Zefiro – II. Aria (04:25)
16. Zefiro – III. Menuetto I & II (02:18)
17. Zefiro – IV. Aria (Siciliana) (04:47)
18. Zefiro – V. Folie (01:45)
19. Zefiro – I. [Allegro] (03:44)
20. Zefiro – II. Largo (01:59)
21. Zefiro – III. Allegro (03:34)