Our first Chapel concert of 2023, «Stylus phantasticus,» is dedicated to the well-known stylistic period of the early and high Baroque era. One of its distinctive features is a dramatic style derived from improvisation, in which short motifs (sometimes dissonant or bizarre), chromatic passages, rapid runs, and other elements are creatively linked together. This is similar to jazz, and is mostly based on constantly repeating melodic-rhythmic structures called ostinati, which give the pieces their driving energy. Margherita Pupulin and Juan José Francione will present an entertaining one-hour program that pays tribute to the violin and its extraordinary playing possibilities, which were discovered and invented in the 17th century.

The creative Italian Baroque violinist and her Argentinean sideman, who plays various plucked instruments, will take us on a journey to a «Museum of Wonders» that features all the rarities, beauties, and curiosities that were designed to captivate audiences with bow strokes and string playing. The emotions expressed in «Stylus phantasticus» range from the sensuality and eroticism of the Song of Solomon to explosive moments of joy and anger, as well as yearning and heart-rending moments. The violin's special effects are just as innovative and unheard-of today as they were to the contemporary ears of Biagio Marini or Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber.