On 11 October, Stockholm (Sweden) unleashes the freedoms of the “Stylus Phantasticus”

Improvisation, surprise, sudden shifts from melancholy to exuberance: on 11 October, Orpheus Baroque Stockholm delves into one of the freest currents of the seventeenth century. In “Orpheus’ Treasure Trove – Stylus Phantasticus”, four members of the ensemble explore this style, born in German-speaking Europe and defined by virtuosity, contrast and freedom from established rules.

The programme brings together four of its leading representatives: Antonio Bertali, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber and Georg Muffat. It includes Biber’s celebrated Passacaglia for solo violin, Schmelzer’s Lamento sopra la morte di Ferdinand III, a sarabande by Bertali and the Sonata in G minor from Muffat’s Armonico tributo.

Founded in 2015, Orpheus Baroque Stockholm brings together musicians from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and independent Baroque specialists. For this concert, the ensemble returns to the chamber format of its “Treasure Trove” series, with Elin Gabrielsson and Emma Nyman on violins, Johannes Rostamo on cello and Jonas Nordberg on lute. A season opener devoted to a form of Baroque music that, three and a half centuries later, has lost none of its capacity to surprise.

Ensemble website: https://orfeusbarockstockholm.se/orpheus