The Janakkala baroque festival offered this year also some fine concerts and I managed to find time to attend one of them. Croatian Baroque Ensemble performed a concert called ”Seicento Italiano”, where they played Italian baroque music mainly from the first half of the 17th century. I did not recognize all the composers, but there were enough familiar names that I was pretty sure the evening would be wonderful, and I definitely was not disappointed.
The concert was held in the Church of St. Lawrence, that was
taken into use in 1520. During summer months it is open to public, so if you
happen to drive pass it, I recommend stopping to see this charming medieval
stone church.
The performance of Croatian Baroque Ensemble was magnificent
playing, but the absolute star of the night was their soloist, the young
soprano Nikolina Hrkac. Despite being quite young, she had an unbelievably
mature and flexible, gorgeous voice. Especially
in the last number, the aria ”Quell’usignolo” from the oratorio ”Sancta Ferma”
by Antonio Caldara she was almost supernatural when she warbled the decorative
parts of the aria. No wonder the audience applauded till their hands were red
in the end of it. For the encore the orchestra offered an unusual piece: they
actually played the same aria without song but mimicking the singing. It
sounded fun, but as a friend of singing, I do have to say that the aria was
even better when it was sung.
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