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Lea Desandre sings Handel: The Triumph of Time and Truth, HWV 71: "Guardian Angels, Oh, Protect me"

Lea Desandre sings Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act 3: "No, No, I’ll Take No Less"

There are a thousand ways to write love and a thousand ways to live it. French-Italian mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and renowned lutenist Thomas Dunford remind us of this by bringing together these works dedicated to love by Italian composers of the 17th century. The dialogue among pieces by Monteverdi, Merula, Kapsberger, and Frescobaldi highlights the richness and complexity of the sentiment. If love songs today have other finery, Lettera amorosa sighs that the motives and messages remain similar.

EPSG:4326

Lea Desandre, mezzo & Thomas Dunford, lute

American Philosophical Society

Founded in 2018 by lutenist Thomas Dunford, France’s Jupiter Ensemble has rapidly captured acclaim in the early music firmament. This international assembly of soloists brings the repertoire fully alive with energy and freedom in their playing. Drawing from the ensemble’s award-winning 2019 debut recording Vivaldi, Jupiter performs arias of jealousy, despair, and love, punctuated by concerti for lute, violin, and bassoon—music that illuminates the composer’s sundry sensations, from the sorrowful to the valiant. At the center, rising opera star Lea Desandre beguiles and ignites with a clarion voice and uncommonly beautiful technique.

Jupiter Ensemble Lea Desandre, mezzo-soprano

Lafayette College

It is safe to say that you have never heard Vivaldi quite like this — reincarnated through the exuberant virtuosity of the young members of the Jupiter Ensemble. Led by “the Eric Clapton of the lute” (BBC Music Magazine) alongside a rising mezzo-soprano who “brings life and beauty to everything she touches” (The New York Times), the group boldly reimagines what an early music ensemble can be as they guide us through the vibrant landscape of Antonio Vivaldi’s baroque innovations. From exhilarating vocal works that dazzle through their stunningly beautiful finesse to fiery concertos for strings that make much of the western canon sound tame in comparison, the program promises to shatter all preconceptions of Vivaldi’s music and reacquaint you with this timeless composer in a completely new light.

Jupiter Ensemble: All-Vivaldi

Richardson Auditorium

It is safe to say that you have never heard Vivaldi quite like this — reincarnated through the exuberant virtuosity of the young members of the Jupiter Ensemble. Led by “the Eric Clapton of the lute” (BBC Music Magazine) alongside a rising mezzo-soprano who “brings life and beauty to everything she touches” (The New York Times), the group boldly reimagines what an early music ensemble can be as they guide us through the vibrant landscape of Antonio Vivaldi’s baroque innovations. From exhilarating vocal works that dazzle through their stunningly beautiful finesse to fiery concertos for strings that make much of the western canon sound tame in comparison, the program promises to shatter all preconceptions of Vivaldi’s music and reacquaint you with this timeless composer in a completely new light.Woolworth Center, Room 301
Princeton, NJ 08544

Jupiter Ensemble

The Jupiter Ensemble is the brainchild of the young lutenist and artistic director Thomas Dunford, who, in 2018, invited musicians and soloists he had met during his many years of touring the world to join him in a new early music ensemble. Together, the Jupiter Ensemble is keeping period practice alive – and every musician in the line-up is a soloist in their own regard.

In Durham, they present a portrait of Vivaldi, a staple composer of the Baroque period and one they spent time with in 2019, when they released a multi-award-winning dedicated Vivaldi recording on Alpha Classics. Lute concertos with Thomas Dunford will form the backbone of their US tour program, accompanied by a cello concerto led by Bruno Philippe, one of France’s most promising young soloists. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the next generation of early music specialists in action.

First Presbyterian Church

Although he is best known for his endlessly imaginative instrumental music, Vivaldi also produced a significant body of alluring vocal works, ranging from operas to small-scale religious pieces. This program illustrates his prowess in several musical genres, both secular and sacred, that came to maturity in the Baroque era: opera, concerto, trio sonata, oratorio, and cantata. One of the most prolific and influential composers of his era, Vivaldi is a staple of modern concert programs. But the extraordinary popular appeal of his music is a fairly recent phenomenon. As early as 1720, Marcello pilloried Vivaldi’s operas in his satire Il teatro alla moda (The Fashionable Theater), and by the late 1700s most of his music had been consigned to obscurity. Not until the 1920s and ’30s, with the rediscovery of many of his manuscript scores, did interest in Vivaldi begin to pick up again. The introduction of long-playing recordings after World War II gave a further fillip to the “Vivaldi craze,” a development that one musicologist called “as momentous for lovers of Baroque music as that of the Dead Sea Scrolls for students of religion.”

Mees Auditorium, Capital University

Jupiter Ensemble, comprising many of today’s new voices in early music, presents an extravaganza of music from Antonio Vivaldi, one of today’s most well-known composers in all of music history. Featuring his Lute Concertos in C Major and D Major, as well as his Cello Concerto in g minor, this concert explores both vocal and instrumental works from the Italian visionary. 

Logan Center

"[Artistic Director] Thomas Dunford has gathered together a team of some of the finest musicians of his generation… Brace yourselves for some exquisitely dizzy spells at the hand of Jupiter.” —Érik Orsenna, French politician and novelist

Passionate, timeless, virtuosic. The Jupiter Ensemble, with mezzo soprano Lea Desandre, presents a recital celebrating iconic baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi. Highlighting his lesser known—but no less spectacular—works, this program features lush arrangements for voice and sparkling concertos for lute and cello in a tribute to Vivaldi’s enduring vitality.

Jupiter Ensemble with Lea Desandre

University of Colorado Boulder

All Vivaldi! Jupiter Ensemble, under the artistic direction of lutenist Thomas Dunford, performs a full program of works by the emblematic Baroque composer. Based in France and touring internationally, Jupiter Ensemble was born in 2018 from the friendship between Dunford and other brilliant musicians of his generation. Since its founding, Jupiter has distinguished itself as a true virtuoso ensemble. The great freedom, energy, and improvisation skills of each individual musician allow them to perform together with passion, strength, and emotion. Jupiter brings this energy to All Vivaldi!, adapted from their 2019 debut recording with the Alpha label. From the vibrant charisma of “utterly persuasive” (Gramophone) mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, to sparkling concertos for lute and cello performed by Thomas Dunford and Bruno Philippe, Jupiter Ensemble’s first ever Santa Fe performance will be a night to remember.

Jupiter Ensemble: All Vivaldi

New Mexico Museum

Since its founding in 2018 by French lutenist Thomas Dunford, the Jupiter Ensemble has quickly established itself as a major force in the European early music scene. In this program dedicated entirely to Vivaldi, the musicians present an exuberant portrait of a composer whose solo works, operas, and oratorios are among the most timeless music of the Baroque period. The result is an overwhelming impression of “chamber music delightedly shared among friends” (Gramophone).

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Founded by renowned lutenist Thomas Dunford, this early music ensemble has quickly garnered a reputation as one of Europe’s best, performing at London’s Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Philharmonie, and Paris’s Salle Gaveau. Joined by leading French mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, the group offers an incredible Vivaldi program.

Lea Desandre

Mezzo-soprano

Events

Past events

Nov 3, 2023

Lea Desandre, mezzo & Thomas Dunford, lute · Philadelphia Chamber Music Society

Mar 31, 2023

Jupiter Ensemble Lea Desandre, mezzo-soprano · Williams Center for the Arts

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