…An interpretation full of grace…

Ensemble Les Nations

Baroque Italian music has been Les Nations first research and performance field, then came Renaissance music, both. Curiosity, deep adherence to the aesthetic ideals of each period studied, based on a rigorous approach both from the research point of view and in the performance, are the hallmark of this ensemble , which is pursuing with passion every project and this passion wants to communicate to his listeners Les Nations, founded by Maria Luisa Baldassari, gathers together musicians trained in historical performance of baroque and renaissance music, experienced both in performance, research and teaching. Les Nations has recorded for RAI Radio 3, and has been invited to many Italian festivals ( Bolzano Festival, the Festival of the International Competition Guido d’Arezzo, twice to MITO, 2007 and 2008) and has been invited to music festivals in Greece and France and Estonia; the ensemble has staged ‘Eurydice’ by Jacopo Peri in 1999 with five reprises. The same opera was requested by the prestigious festival MITO 2008. A representation in semi-staged form of Semele by Handel has been presented in 2010 for Lugo Theatre

Les Nations concert programs cover a range going from Renaissance to Baroque Era. The group has made the first world recording of Bartolomeo Tromboncino sacred music. Instruments and voices for this recording have been choosed according to northern italian performance practice of early Renaissance, trying in particular to reproduce the gorgeous sound of the Venetian ‘processioni’.

With the same approach we have then thoroughly studied the secular music of Tromboncino our interest was focused on the frottolas with latin text and text by Petrarca; the 2001 cd “Dulces Exuviae” contains both high passionate music as Dido’s lament and joyful pieces. The research on Renaissence music has gone on in 2002 with a recording of sacred music and madrigals by the composer Costanzo Porta. “La Compagnia dell’Oratorio” is a special project conceived with the support of Collegium Musicum Classense, Emilia Romagna Cultural Department and Ravenna Province, whose aim is studying, recording and performance of oratorios of Emilia Romagna composers of the Baroque period This wonderful repertoire, that concentrates in a little ensemble and in one or two hours the emotions of an opera, has been until now largely neglected by performers and scholars. Many recordings have been published and other are to come: in 2005 a recording of “Il transito di S. Giuseppe”, by Giovanni Paolo Colonna; in 2008 “San Sigismondo re di Borgogna”, by Domenico Gabrielli; in 2012 “Mosè” by Giacomo Antonio Perti; in 2014 “Assalonne” by Colonna. 2016 is the year of Giovanni Battista Bassani “Giona”

Maria Luisa Baldassari

Is a graduated in piano, harpsichord (Bologna Conservatoire) and musicology (Pavia University); she studied harpsichord with Gordon Murray Bob van Asperen. She is active both as performer and scholar: as harpsichord soloist and accompanist she has played with various renowned musicians (Maxence Larrieu, Cristiano Rossi, Alessandro Ciccolini, Bruce Dickey, Stefano Montanari, Pekka Kuusisto, Gloria Banditelli…), and ensembles in many Italian theaters and concert halls and has been invited in France, Austria, Portugal, Greece, Brasil, USA, Canada. Maria Luisa Baldassari has founded the Ensemble Les Nations, a group composed by well known solists of ancient music in Italy, whose repertoire is focused on Renaissance and early Baroque Italian music. With this ensemble she has recorded 7 cd.

The ensemble has been chosen in 1999 for the staging of ‘Euridice’ of Jacopo Peri, the first extant opera, repeated at Festival Mito, Turin 2007. Maria Luisa Baldassari has recorded CDs for Echo, Tactus, Rivo Alto, EMI and Nuova Era. She teachs harpsichord at Pesaro Conservatoire and is President of the musical association Collegium Musicum Classense; she writes musicological essays (mainly on XVIIth century italian sacred music) musical reviews and publishes critical editions for ‘Ut Orpheus’. She has also translated in italian the well-known continuo treatise by Jesper Christensen (Ut Orpheus-Baerenreiter, 2003)

Main recordings

• Solo keyboard (harpsichord, spinetta, clavichord, organ) Andrea Antico “Frottole Intabulate per sonar organi”, Tactus, to be published

with Ensemble Les Nations (conductor)

• Bartolomeo Tromboncino, Laudi e Lamentazioni (Tactus)
• Bartolomeo Tromboncino, Dulces Exuviae – Frottole  (Tactus)
• Costanzo Porta: Mottetti e madrigali (Tactus), with Speculum Musicae
• Giovanni Paolo Colonna “Il transito di S. Gioseppe”, oratorio (Tactus)
• Domenico Gabrielli, “San Sigismondo”, oratorio (Tactus)
• Giacomo Antornio Perti, “Mosè” (Tactus)
• Giovanni Paolo Colonna, “Assalonne” (Tactus)

with Scintille di Musica – Angelo Branduardi (solo hapsichord and basso continuo)

• Futuro Antico III – Mantova (EMI)
• Futuro Antico IV – Venezia (EMI)
• Futuro Antico V – Venezia (EMI)
• Futuro Antico VI – Roma (EMI)
• Futuro Antico VII – Trento (EMI)

with Cappella Artemisia

• Sulpitia Cesis, Mottetti spirituali (Tactus)

with Ensemble I luoghi dello Spirito (conductor)

• Alessandro Salvolini, Messe e mottetti (Tactus)
• Antonio Pio, Gionata, oratorio (Tactus, 2014)

with Ensemble Speculum Musicae

• M. Asola, Magnificat. dir.M. Malavasi. (Rivo Alto)

with  Ensemble Fortuna

• Canzonette profane e spirituali raccolte da Simone Verovio (Echo)
• Ghinolfo Dattari, Le Villanelle a 3, 4 e 5 voci (Tactus)

with Ensemble Paolo Buconi

• Antichi canti ebraici del mediterraneo (Tactus)

with Ensemble RecitarCantando

• “Si salvi chi può”, cantate romane del XVII secolo (ClassicAntiqua – Clavis)

with Ensemble I Fiori Musicali

• Antonio Vivaldi, Concerti a più strumenti (Tactus)

Musicological writings, cd notes

• “Giovanni Ghizzolo tra Correggio e Ravenna”, ne  La Cappella Musicale nell’età della Controriforma, Cento, 13-15/10/1989. Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi,  Società Italiana di Musicologia.
• “I libri di Concerti Sacri di Giovanni Ghizzolo”, ne Il Santo, XXXII, 1992
• “Musica a Ballo a Bologna ne ‘700” in Aspetti della cultura di danza nell’Europa del Settecento, atti del Convegno, Bologna, 2-4 giugno 2000
• “Costanzo Porta, la scuola” ne Il Santo, XLIV, 2004, estratto dagli atti del convegno tenuto a Ravenna, chiostri francescani,
• I luoghi dello spirito – Dieci anni di architetture e suggestioni sonore Ravenna, Longo 2006
• CD booklet “CANORO PIANTO DI MARIA VERGINE SOPRA LA FACCIA DI
• CHRISTO ESTINTO” – Ensemble “La Flora” (Tactus)
• CD booklet “PIRRO CAPACELLI ALBERGATI” – Corona dei pregi di Maria – Ensemble
• La Flora (Tactus)
• Editions, transcriptions, translations
• G. B. Martini La Dirindina, intermezzo, Bologna, Ut Orpheus 1997
• Alessandro Scarlatti, Stabat Mater per soprano, contralto, archi e bc., Bologna, Ut Orpheus 1998
• Salve Regina, per soprano, contralto e bc, Bologna, Ut Orpheus 2007
• Alessandro Salvolini, Messe e Mottetti, Armelin, Padova 2005
• Jesper B. Christensen, translation from German/French of Metodo di Basso continuo,
• Bologna, Ut Orpheus 2004
• Andrea Antico “Frottole Intabulate” Ut Orpheus, to be published
• Masterclass and workshops
• Kotor, Montenegro: harpsichord masterclass and solo concerts, Festival Ars et Musica Antiqua Perast, 2005 e 2006
• Mombaroccio, Italy: harpsichord, continuo and early music masterclass, 2006 e 2007
• Chiusi della Verna, Italy: harpsichord, continuo and early music masterclass , 2006
• Belgrade, Serbia, Cultural Center: harpsichord masterclass and solo concerts, Festival “Ars Vivendi Clavicembalum” 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
• Lugo, Italy, teatro Rossini: 19-23 July 2009 international masterclass on staging “Semele” by G. F. Haendel
• Liublijana, Slovenia: Erasmus Harpsichord masterclass at State Music Academy, 2011, 2013 2015
• Tallinn, Estonia: Erasmus Harpsichord masterclass at Estonian Academy for Music and Drama, 2013
• Stockholm, Sweden : Erasmus Harpsichord masterclass at the Royal Music Academy, 2015

Competions

• Harpsichord Competition for italian students (international from 2010) “Gianni Gambi” , Conservatorio di Pesaro: artistic direction (2003-2015) and member of the jury (2013).
• Harpsichord Competition“Terzo Musica”, 2009, member of the jury. Students awarded in competitions: Fabio Falcone (Gianni Gambi Competition, Pesaro 2005);
• Yasue Hokimoto (Terzo musica Italian harpsichord competition, Cuneo 2009)
• Dusan Toroman (TIM international music competition, Paris 2011, Wanda Landowska Italian harpsichord competition, Bari 2011)

Festivals, musical activities

• Founder of musical association Collegium Musicum Classense, now president. The association organizes musical events with the regular help of Emilia Romagna region and varius public and private sponsors (masterclass with Bob van Asperen, Emilia Fadini, Gordon Murray, Jesper Christensen, Harpsichord exhibition). Artistic director of early music festival “I luoghi dello Spirito e del tempo” (1996-2015).

Recensioni e opinioni:

“L’ensemble Les Nations si propone opportunamente con una nutrita e varia formazione vocale e strumentale, nel giusto e ben riuscito tentativo di dare varietà e soprattutto adeguato rilievo interpretativo ed espressivo alle varie composizioni” Gianpaolo Capuzzo, Compact Discs Classic

“Il Transito de San Gioseppe. Colonna’s first oratorio, dating from 1678, is a string of secco recitatives and arias with only one aria for each character being fully accompanied by the strings (although Lucifer gets a trumpet in one of his!), and will shed more light on the genre as it gained maturity in the second half of the 18th century” Records International 2006

(On the “Transito”) “..the lovely aria “Non temete costanti pensieri” sung by the warm-voiced mezzosoprano Elena Biscuola, and the catchy aria “”Al suon di mie trombe” for Lucifer, (who has some great tunes) sung by basso Matteo Bellotto” Craig Zeichner, Early Music America 2008

“…Il pregevolissimo catalogo della casa discografica Tactus… si è arricchito di un inedito gioiello: il Transito di San Gioseppe… accessibile ora nell’ottima esecuzione dell’Ensemble Les Nations…” Francesco Tasini, CD Art 2 2008

(On the representation of “Semele” by G. F. Haendel, Lugo, Teatro Rossini, Summer 2009) “In particolare bravissima è Francesca Lombardi nell’interpretazione di una sensuale Semele…Altrettanto bravi gli altri protagonisti… tutti accompagnati dall’ensemble…guidato al clavicembalo da Maria Luisa Baldassari. Completa l’ottimo cast la regia di Thomas M. Zipf” Claudia Mambelli, Opera 2010

“Mosè” di G. A. Perti: (Musica, Dicembre 2012): “Questo lavoro è ora proposto in prima mondiale in un esecuione equilibrata, dovuta alla direzione di Maria Luisa Baldassari. Al Mosè sensibile e autorevole di Gloria Banditelli, assai gradevole anche dal punto di vista timbrico, si affiancano di volta in volta il Testo limpido e duttile di Elena Biscuola e il potente Faraone di Marco Bussi…. Un risultato globale, dunque, sostanzialmente rispondente alle non comuni potenzialità di una partitura ricca di contrasti e di finezze strumentali (come nel caso… della tromba, affidata a un ottimo Simone Amelli)…

“Assalonne” di G. P. Colonna: (Early Music Review, April 2015) ““Five singers take the six role parts… they are stylishly accompanied by a one-to-a-part band including solo trumpet.. Most of the singing is good, thought I found some of the ornamentation in the repeated verses a little artificial for my liking… The playing, on the other hand, is impeccable – the duetting violinist are a perfect match, and the trumpet adds lustre to the texture. To have been written about so much, Colonna’s music must have been good – it is a pity we get so few opportunities to hear to it!”