“Concerto Gallese work tirelessly rediscovering the neglected beauty of ancient works and performing them for local audiences in interesting surroundings . . . early music at its best” (Brecon and Radnor Express, May 2003)

"The singers were magnificently supported by Concerto Gallese Baroque Orchestra and Soloists, who shone on their own account in the G minor oboe concerto [Handel HWV287]. Their light touch gave the work plenty of space to breathe, dancing infectiously through its playful dotted rhythms in a performance remarkable for the corporate sensitivity of its phrasing . . . played with loving dedication by committed players"
(Western Telegraph, July 2003)

"Concerto Gallese play with animation and gusto"
(Classical CD Review, Website)

"Splendid Baroque twang from Concerto Gallese"
(Stratford Festival, October 2003)

"Lively, stylish performances"
(London Evening Standard, June 2004)

With Tempus, Pembrokeshire, June 2007

  Concerto Gallese Baroque Orchestra & Soloists is a professional period instrument orchestra based in South Wales. Founded in 1994 by violinist Christopher Hair and singer Malcolm Bennett for a one-off event in Brecon Cathedral, the ensemble is now well-known in Mid and South Wales for its lively interpretation of baroque music using period instruments and authentic performing techniques. At its centre is a core group of five performers comprising voice/recorders, two violins, ‘cello and keyboard. Extra instrumentalists and singers augment this ensemble, as the occasion dictates. Training is of paramount importance, and as such, the enhanced orchestra consists of a combination of young professionals and talented amateurs, together with a number of well-established professionals. The orchestra actively promotes the performance of music by lesser-known composers alongside that of their mainstream contemporaries. Modern premieres have included works by Giovanni Bianchi, Francesco Mancini, Nicola Matteis, Alessandro Stradella and Francesco Scarlatti. In July 2001 they presented the first modern-day performance of the Roman composer Pietro Paolo Bencini’s oratorio Il sacrificio di Abramo [1708]. They have worked with the Dyfed Choir in performances of music by Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach’s B Minor Mass, and in 2003 they premiered The Prodigy of Love, a cantata commissioned by the orchestra from composer Simon Thorne, coupled with Stradella’s Qual prodigio è ch’io miri? Bookings for 2003 also included two performances of Handel’s Dixit Dominus with Pembrokeshire-based chamber choir Tempus. In October of the same year the orchestra made their London debut at the Wigmore Hall, in a programme of newly-discovered choral works by Francesco Scarlatti. Soloists included Emma Kirkby. The same programme was recorded by Deux-Elles and released on cd in June 2004. Future projects include performances of Purcell's Dido & Aeneas, with the prologue and missing close of Act II reconstructed by Christopher Hair, a reconstruction of the London St. Cecilia’s Day celebrations of 1696, with music by Matteis and John Lenton, and performances of Stradella’s Lo schiavo liberato, Francesco Scarlatti’s Il Daniele nel lago de leoni, and Luigi Rossi’s Oratorio per la Settemana Santa.

Wigmore Hall, London, October 2003

For a sample programme, please click here

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