Christ Church Cathedral
Amandine Beyer & Gli Incogniti
False Consonances of Melancholy
General Admission Pews still available
Artists: Gli Incogniti directed by Amandine Beyer, violin
Pre-Concert Chat: 07:00pm hosted by Suzie LeBlanc with Amandine Beyer.
Runtime: Approximately 100 min
“Amandine Beyer… plenty of human emotion, but a present-day perspective…”
– The Strad
Baroque ensemble Gli Incogniti, headed by French violinist Amandine Beyer, brings a programme exploring the works of notable Italian violinist Nicola Matteis (1650-1713), whose life and compositions are steeped in the unknown. Active in London, Matteis published several well-received collections of inventive and evocative violin and chamber music before fading into obscurity – Beyer brings Matteis out of the archives and breathes new life into his music in the concert hall.
Click here to read programme notes by Amandine Beyer
Generously sponsored by Dr. Katherine E. Paton.
Gli Incogniti is supported by the DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the département de la Gironde. With the support of the Centre National de la Musique (CNM).
PROGRAMME
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Sonata 6, Z795
from Sonatas of Three Parts, 1683
Nicola Matteis (¿-ca. 1700)
Suite in a minor
from Ayrs for the Violin, 1685
Preludio, Adagio, Alemanda ad imitatione d’un tartaglia, Sarabanda Amorosa, Movimento Incognito, Gavotta
Henry Purcell
Sonata 10, Z799
from Sonatas of Three Parts, 1683
Nicola Matteis
Suite in G Major
Preludio, Musica, Sarabanda, Giga “Al Genio Turchesco”, Aria Burlesca
INTERVAL
Nicola Matteis
Suite in g minor
Preludio in ostinatione, Andamento malinconico, Grave, Aria for the flute, Giga
Henry Purcell
Ayre, A new Irish Tune, A new Scotch Tune, Air en Bourrée, A Ground (harpsichord solo)
Nicola Matteis
Suite in C Major
Preludio Allegro, Vivace, Fuga, Aria, Sonata, Diverse Bizarrie sopra la Vecchia Sarabanda ò pur Ciaccona
Amandine Beyer, violin, direction
Since the beginning of her career over twenty-five years ago, Amandine Beyer has given concerts all over the world. Invited by major baroque ensembles as conductor and soloist (Freiburger Barock Orchester, Akademie Für Alte Musik, European Union Baroque Orchestra, the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra of Toronto…), she founded her own orchestra Gli Incogniti in 2006, with which she performs the instrumental music of Bach, Vivaldi, Corelli, Pachelbel, Matteis, Couperin, CPE Bach, Haydn, Mozart… With them, she has appeared in the most prestigious festivals and concert halls both in France (Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Opéra de Bordeaux, Opéra de Montpellier, Festival de Saintes, Auditorium de Radio-France…) and internationally (Boston Festival, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw of Bruges, Flagey and Bozar in Brussels, Philharmonie of Liège, Philharmonie of Luxembourg, Carnegie Hall in New York, Philharmonie of Berlin, Tonhalle of Zürich…).In 2011, Amandine Beyer recorded the Sonates & Partita of J.S. Bach (Zig-Zag Territoires/Outhere Music) which came in for huge critical and public success. She was then asked by the choreographer Anne-Teresa de Keersmaeker (Compagnie Rosas) to create the show Partita 2. After five performances in the Cour d’Honneur of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, which closed the IN Festival, she undertook an international tour, giving over 80 performances worldwide.
This collaboration continued in 2018 with the participation of her ensemble Gli Incogniti in the project Les Six Concertos Brandebourgeois which could be heard at the Opéra de Paris, La Monnaie in Brussels, Berlin, New York, Liège, Lille, Luxembourg… Then, in 2022, for the creation of Mystery Sonatas / for Rosa which staged the Rosary Sonatas by the Austrian composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber and then, in 2024, with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. At the same time, Amandine Beyer performs chamber music with such partners as Pierre Hantaï, Kristian Bezuidenhout or Andreas Staier, ranging from the baroque to the romantic repertoires, notably with Schubert and Beethoven. In 2015, she founded the Kitgut Quartet, a string quartet playing period instruments. Their first album, Tis too late to be wise, devoted to Haydn and England (Purcell, Locke) from Harmonia Mundi was hailed by the critics.
Since her recording in 2008 of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, which brought the ensemble to the attention of the general public, the discography of Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti has come in for unanimous recognition from the critics and received the most prestigious awards (Diapason d’Or, Choc de l’année, Gramophone Editor's Choice, 4F from Télérama).After having studied in Chiara Banchini’s class at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Amandine Beyer succeeded her and became a teacher there in 2010. Passionate about transmission, in 2017 she founded her own Academy with Gli Incogniti. Meanwhile, she is invited to give masterclasses worldwide (Italy, Germany, Taiwan, USA, Canada…) and regularly conducts the Jeune Orchestre de l’Abbaye, the EUBO, the Ambronay Academy
orchestra, and the French Youth Orchestra.
Gli Incogniti
Gli Incogniti was founded in 2006 by the violinist Amandine Beyer. It is named after the Accademia degli Incogniti, an artistic and academic circle that was amongst the most active and libertarian of 17 th century Venice.
Gli Incogniti is specialist of baroque instrumental repertoire but it explores also the classical repertoire. The ensemble is regularly invited to perform in major venues, in France and abroad: Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Auditorium de Radio France (FR), Wigmore Hall (UK), Oji Hall in Tokyo (JP), Philharmonie du Luxembourg (LU), BOZAR Brussels (BE), Philharmonie Essen (DE)… It also performs on the stages of major festivals, among which Boston Festival (US), Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo (MC), MA Festival Brugge (BE), International Bergen Festival (NO), Festival de Torroella (ES), festivals of Saintes, Saint-Denis, Montpellier (FR)…
Among its many collaborations, we can mention Giuliano Carmignola, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Andreas Staier, Maria Cristina Kiehr, Alexeï Lubimov, Hans-Jörg Mammel but also Rosas, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s dance company or the group of traditional singers La Manufacture verbale. Gli incogniti exclusively records with harmonia mundi: Vivaldi, Pachelbel, CPE Bach, Haydn… its albums have been unanimously praised by press and the audience. Strongly attached to transmission towards the younger generation, Gli Incogniti has held since 2017 a chamber music and bodywork Academy for young baroque ensembles, students or newly professional.
Gli Incogniti receives the support of the DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine, of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and of the département de la Gironde. It is regularly sponsored by Adami, Spedidam and CNM Export for its performance and recording activities and by the Caisse des Dépôts for its Academy.
