L'Arpeggiata

Luigi Rossi was one of the shining lights of 17th-century Italian vocal music. A master of the canzonetta (a type of popular song) and cantata, Rossi also composed operas—L’Orfeo was one of his most successful—for both the Papal family and the French court. Extremely versatile, Rossi juxtaposed styles within a single work, often shifting from intense recitative to mellifluous song, while also venturing into daring harmonic regions. L’Arpeggiata—the “superb early music ensemble with a quirky sensibility” (The New York Times)—performs this supremely inventive composer’s vocal music.

Apollo’s Fire

Some of the Baroque’s most glorious music—particularly works by Bach and Telemann—premiered at Café Zimmermann, the 18th-century Leipzig coffeehouse that hosted performances by the Collegium Musicum, an ensemble made up of the town’s finest musicians. Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland-based period instrument orchestra, carries on the tradition with this concert that features exuberant concertos, a suite based on the Don Quixote tale, and more.

Les Violons du Roy

Many of Bach’s most eloquent statements were made at the organ keyboard, where he would improvise on Lutheran chorale tunes and spin complex webs of counterpoint. Bach was also a master of instrumental music, and his violin concertos are melodically rich and highly virtuosic works. Les Violons du Roy explores the best of both these worlds in a program that features concertos and striking new arrangements of the Leipzig master’s keyboard works.