This lovely Sunday morning (17th July 2022), a bit warmer than usual, was the moment when the first concert of the Barga Art & Musical Festival took place in the colourful surroundings of the Portrait Painting Gallery in Barga Vecchia. The event was fully booked, with people coming from the United States, Denmark, Great Britain alongside some Barghigiani, including a delegate of the Comune di Barga, Marese Andreotti and Filippo Lunardi.
Italian Cello Duo, formed by Francesca Gaddi and Alessandro De Felice, presented the audience with a stunning programme from Bach to Michael Jackson! Francesca and Alessandro, two of the best Italian cellists, surprised their listeners with a very interesting piece, Sonata N° 5 op. 3 per violoncello e basso continuo by Francesco Geminiani. Born in 1687, this almost forgotten composer was in his time considered almost a musical God, deemed to be the equal of Handel and Corelli. Another surprise was the Sonata No. 7 in A minor (RV 44) by Antonio Vivaldi, from an original manuscript kept in the Conservatory of Naples.
According to Italian Cello Duo: “The way we lead our lives nowadays influences how we listen and perform music. Our intent is to bring to the foreground the phenomenal tonal colour and technical potential of the cello with very diverse repertoire.” And that was certainly what they did! The second half of the concert the audience was treated with some energetic Tangos, composed by Carlos Gardel, followed by the famous composition ‘Libertango’ by Astor Piazolla. The end of this musical journey was an encore by Michael Jackson. What a great and memorable Sunday this was! The setting of the art gallery is perfect for chamber music, from which will see more these coming Sundays in July and August.