O Sole Mio : Mandolin Concertos & Songs

Description

New journey to the heart of the mandolin repertoire, presented in two very contrasting aspects. On one side, the concert repertoire: Vivaldi and Hummel frame a major world premiere, the Concerto No. 1 by Calace in the unprecedented orchestration by Thibault Perrine. On the other side, three famous airs and two charming pieces by Paganini constitute an immersion into the world of the serenade.
Like its distant cousin the violin, the mandolin knows how to sing great emotions as long as it is played by JULIEN MARTINEAU, one of its great ambassadors around the world.
By traversing two centuries of music, from Vivaldi (the famous Concerto for two mandolins) to Calace (First Concerto), passing through Paganini (all the works for mandolin and guitar are gathered here!) and Hummel (Concerto), Julien Martineau once again unfolds an extraordinarily diverse palette of expressions on his instrument. Here, the bittersweet melancholy of 18th century Venice will contrast with the heroism not without sadness or mischief of Calace, or with the princely elegance of Hummel's Concerto, the absolute paragon of classical style from the early 19th century. A true little concert opera, O sole mio brings together as many musician friends of Julien Martineau as dreamed characters, and even calls upon the imagination of the serenade: baritone FLORIAN SEMPEY, ERIC FRANCERIES, and YANN DUBOST join him for the Canzonetta from Don Giovanni, and two of the most famous Neapolitan songs, O sole mio of course, and also Passione.
For the first time as well, the mandolin confronts a large orchestra, namely the ORCHESTRE NATIONAL DU CAPITOLE DE TOULOUSE, which, under the direction of conductor WILSON NG – another revelation of this program – unveils treasures of finesse and virtuosity; in such conditions, Julien Martineau can deploy as much fervor as poetic delicacy in the First Concerto by Calace, presented here in the orchestration commissioned by Martineau himself from Thibault Perrine.
A SIMPLY INTOXICATING JOURNEY!