Concerti Grossi Greatest Hits

Parley is Bach! While the “Concerti Grossi Greatest Hits” concert had to be postponed in January, now it is happening for one performance only on Sunday, April 3, 3:00 PM, at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Music Director Valerie Arsenault says, “It broke our hearts to postpone our concert last January, so we are excited to bring it back on April 3, 2022.”

The designation “concerto grosso” usually means there are two to four (or more) soloists, while a plain “concerto” usually means there is one soloist. This concert features “concerti grossi” by Vivaldi, Telemann, and (of course) J. S. Bach.

Two of the pieces are written for four violins; in the Telemann concerto the four violins take turns being the soloist and being the back-up players and there are no instruments other than those four violins, while in the Vivaldi the quartet of solo violins is supported by the viola, cello, bass, and harpsichord.

The two pieces written for two violin solos with backup are by Vivaldi and J. S. Bach. Musicians often refer to the “Bach Double” or the “Vivaldi Double” as a shorthand for Bach’s Concerto in D minor and Vivaldi’s Concerto in A minor.

Featured alongside the core Bach Parley musicians are five FSU students, four violinists, Tommaso Bruno, Deborah Olivier, Thomas Roggio, Elliot Weeks and one cellist, Aric Lee. Arsenault says, “These are some of the strongest students I have ever had the pleasure to teach in the FSU Baroque Ensemble, and I’m thrilled to introduce them to the Bach Parley audience.”