duggup

Artist: Il Giardino Armonico
Website: www.ilgiardinoarmonico.com
Track Name: Vivaldi Concerto for Lute RV 93 by Giovanni Antonini.
Playback: flash video
Download?: No

Thatch sent me an email recently about multi-instrumentalist (flute, whistles, uilleann pipes and fiddle) Emer Mayock. We met her and her band in 1996 after a gig they did at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. Before she started jamming and playing with world famous musicians, she jammed with Thatch in a little pub in Temple Bar, not far from Trinity University where we were staying.

The reason for this name dropping is that she has played with some very fine musicians indeed including, just to put the record straight – Afro Celt Soundsystem. The featured act tonight have also collaborated with her. It’s good to find out that she is still gigging.

First off though, a word of warning – their website doesn’t play nice – if you use IE, you are okay – but not if you use Firefox or similar browsers. For a group of people who look and sound top notch, the website let’s them down.

Now at last, on with the reason why we are here – Il Giardino Armonico. The musicianship is quite outstanding. The music is delightful and the experience of listening is just delicious. Adrienne Gurteen, a Melbourne flautist of no mean talent herself once told me that you needed to be able to play a tune well before considering putting any embellishment on it. These people have learnt the tunes very well indeed.

Il Giardino Armonico, founded in Milan in 1985 (20 years ago!), brings together a number of graduates from some of Europe’s leading colleges of music, all of whom have specialised in playing on period instruments. The ensemble’s repertory is concentrated in the main on the 17th and 18th centuries. Depending on the demands of each programme, the group will consist of anything from 3 to 30 musicians.

I had wanted to bring you some audio tracks, but they seem to have wandered off. Though samples from their collections can be heard at www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/hnum/6507824/rk/home/rsk/hitlist and here is just one of the many available videos on Youtube. Vivaldi Concerto for Lute RV 93 by Giovanni Antonini.

jools is a graphic designer who used to front a band on vocals and bass. All evidence of which have mercifully been obliterated or otherwise lost.
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