La serenissima - Behind Closed Doors - Brescianello, Vol. 1 (2021) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

The title for this recording was inspired by the situation in which many ensembles and musicians found themselves after the arrival of the devastating Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Countries were locked down; concerts and recordings were cancelled; musicians everywhere were out of work.

On 18 February 2020, a small contingent of La Serenissima finished recording the album Settecento. This was to be the last music the ensemble would play until reconvening to record this first volume of Brescianello’s Opus 1. Although some musical events were able to go ahead during the summer’s brief respite from the pandemic, La Serenissma’s entire schedule was either cancelled or postponed. This was a most uncertain period for our musicians. Our first act after the nationwide lockdown was to set up a hardship fund for members past and present; we then set about preparing the ensemble to survive a year of silence. Despite everything, there were positives: musicians finally had all the time in the world to practice, and I found that the enforced sabbatical period enabled me to focus on the study and editing of many Vivaldi concertos, a project that was long overdue.

Trying to second-guess the inevitable effects that the pandemic would have on our industry made us all wish for a crystal ball. Although the rhetoric from the British government was mainly upbeat concerning the re-opening of the economy, those of us whose heads weren’t in the clouds could see another wave of Covid-19 brewing on the horizon that would inevitably disrupt the following concert season of 2020-21.

For an entirely freelance orchestra, with no geographical bias or ‘home’ for the band to work from, the pandemic was particularly hard-hitting. The stagnation of La Serenissima’s schedule endangered the visibility of the ensemble and threatened decades of work that had been spent building our style and tightknit ensemble playing. We desperately needed a project to address these concerns, and just as importantly, we needed a project to improve our team’s mental health and financial prospects. As concerts were out of the equation, we turned our attention to creating a patch of recording sessions.

TRACKLIST

1. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 1 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in F Major, Op. 12: I. Allegro
2. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 1 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in F Major, Op. 12: Ii. Adagio
3. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 1 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in F Major, Op. 12: Iii. Allegro assai
4. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Sinphonia No. 1 for Strings & Continuo in D Major, Op. 12: I. Allegro – Adagio
5. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Sinphonia No. 1 for Strings & Continuo in D Major, Op. 12: Ii. Presto
6. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 2 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in A Minor, Op. 12: I. Allegro
7. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 2 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in A Minor, Op. 12: Ii. Adagio ed à tempo giusto
8. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 2 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in A Minor, Op. 12: Iii. Allegro
9. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Sinphonia No. 2 for Strings & Continuo in G Major, Op. 12: I. Allegro – Adagio
10. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Sinphonia No. 2 for Strings & Continuo in G Major, Op. 12: Ii. Presto
11. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 3 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in B-Flat Major, Op. 12: I. Allegro
12. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 3 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in B-Flat Major, Op. 12: Ii. Adagio e cantábile
13. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Concerto No. 3 for Violin, Strings & Continuo in B-Flat Major, Op. 12: Iii. Allegro
14. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Sinphonia No. 3 for Strings & Continuo in C Major, Op. 12: I. Allegro – Largo
15. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Sinphonia No. 3 for Strings & Continuo in C Major, Op. 12: Ii. Allegro
16. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Ouverture Sinfonia in B-Flat Major: I. Ouverture – Fuga
17. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Ouverture Sinfonia in B-Flat Major: Ii. Gavotte
18. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Ouverture Sinfonia in B-Flat Major: Iii. Aria – Andante
19. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Ouverture Sinfonia in B-Flat Major: Iv. Bourrée
20. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Ouverture Sinfonia in B-Flat Major: V. Aria – Adagio
21. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Ouverture Sinfonia in B-Flat Major: Vi. Menuet – Trio – Menuet
22. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Ouverture Sinfonia in B-Flat Major: Vii. Rondeau
23. La Serenissima & Adrian Chandler - Ouverture Sinfonia in B-Flat Major: Viii. Gigue



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