Stylus Phantasticus

The most imaginative, unconventional, and vibrant form of expression of its time. Like a written improvisation, Concerto Copenhagen will bring the music to life as if it were composed yesterday and performed for the first time today.

 

“A kind of speech in music” is how Lars Ulrik Mortensen describes the stylus phantasticus, emphasizing that this music must be performed “so that it can surprise or shock and take the audience on a journey,” and that its performance must and should “go right to the edge—and at times beyond it.” The evening’s program offers such lavish examples of the free imagination of that era that it gives the concept of “Baroque music” entirely new dimensions.

The fanciful style, or in Latin “stylus phantasticus,” emerged in Italy in the late 16th century, often in virtuoso solo pieces for keyboard instruments known as “toccata” or “stravaganza,” and reached its peak with the North German organ school and Dietrich Buxtehude around 1700. In essence, it was the most unrestrained and wildly expansive form of expression of its time—whims, inventions, fancies, and caprices could alternate unpredictably—as if it were a written-down improvisation. Theorists of the time described the style as bound by neither melody, text, time signature, nor tempo; it can leap freely from idea to idea, and it gives a brilliant composer or musician the greatest possible leeway to stir the listener’s passions!

The concept of “Stylus phantasticus” may have faded with the Baroque era, but the free, playful musical form did not disappear. It found new paths and expressions in composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, both of whom were formidable improvisers, and not least in even later composers such as Chopin, Liszt, and Paganini. And striking a balance between spontaneous musical impulses and carefully conceived, complex structures and forms has been a constant challenge and a source of both frustration and inspiration for composers throughout the ages.

Concerto Copenhagen will bring the music of this era to life, as if it were written yesterday and performed for the first time today.

The most imaginative, unconventional, and vibrant form of expression of its time. Like a written improvisation, Concerto Copenhagen will bring the music to life as if it were composed yesterday and performed for the first time today.

 

“A kind of speech in music” is how Lars Ulrik Mortensen describes the stylus phantasticus, emphasizing that this music must be performed “so that it can surprise or shock and take the audience on a journey,” and that its performance must and should “go right to the edge—and at times beyond it.” The evening’s program offers such lavish examples of the free imagination of that era that it gives the concept of “Baroque music” entirely new dimensions.

The fanciful style, or in Latin “stylus phantasticus,” emerged in Italy in the late 16th century, often in virtuoso solo pieces for keyboard instruments known as “toccata” or “stravaganza,” and reached its peak with the North German organ school and Dietrich Buxtehude around 1700. In essence, it was the most unrestrained and wildly expansive form of expression of its time—whims, inventions, fancies, and caprices could alternate unpredictably—as if it were a written-down improvisation. Theorists of the time described the style as bound by neither melody, text, time signature, nor tempo; it can leap freely from idea to idea, and it gives a brilliant composer or musician the greatest possible leeway to stir the listener’s passions!

The concept of “Stylus phantasticus” may have faded with the Baroque era, but the free, playful musical form did not disappear. It found new paths and expressions in composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, both of whom were formidable improvisers, and not least in even later composers such as Chopin, Liszt, and Paganini. And striking a balance between spontaneous musical impulses and carefully conceived, complex structures and forms has been a constant challenge and a source of both frustration and inspiration for composers throughout the ages.

Concerto Copenhagen will bring the music of this era to life, as if it were written yesterday and performed for the first time today.

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PROGRAM

Den mest fantasifulde, regelfri og livlige udtryksform fra sin tid – som en nedskreven improvisation. Concerto Copenhagen bringer musikken til live, som var den komponeret i går og spillet for første gang i dag.

“En slags tale i musik” kalder Lars Ulrik Mortensen Stylus Phantasticus og understreger, at denne musik må spilles “så den kan overraske eller chokere og tage publikum med på en rejse”, og at dens udførelse må og skal “gå helt ud til – og momentvis over – kanten”. Dagens program giver smukke eksempler på datidens frie fabuleren og giver begrebet “barokmusik” nye dimensioner.

The fanciful style, or in Latin “stylus phantasticus,” emerged in Italy in the late 16th century, often in virtuoso solo pieces for keyboard instruments known as “toccata” or “stravaganza,” and reached its peak with the North German organ school and Dietrich Buxtehude around 1700. In essence, it was the most unrestrained and wildly expansive form of expression of its time—whims, inventions, fancies, and caprices could alternate unpredictably—as if it were a written-down improvisation. Theorists of the time described the style as bound by neither melody, text, time signature, nor tempo; it can leap freely from idea to idea, and it gives a brilliant composer or musician the greatest possible leeway to stir the listener’s passions!

The concept of “Stylus phantasticus” may have faded with the Baroque era, but the free, playful musical form did not disappear. It found new paths and expressions in composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, both of whom were formidable improvisers, and not least in even later composers such as Chopin, Liszt, and Paganini. And striking a balance between spontaneous musical impulses and carefully conceived, complex structures and forms has been a constant challenge and a source of both frustration and inspiration for composers throughout the ages.

PROGRAM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Sonata VIII fra Fidicinium Sacro-Profanum

Dario Castello
Sonata XV (1629)

Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Lamento di Ferdinando III

Matthias Weckmann
Toccata Ottava for cembalo

Henry Purcell
Fantasia VIII (Z.739) & XI (Z.742), for strygere

Antonio Bertali
Ciacona for violin og continuo

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Matthew Locke
Curtain Tune fra “The Tempest”

Johann Jacob Froberger
Suite i D-Dur, FbWV620, for cembalo
Memento mori – Gigue – Courante – Sarabande

Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Polnische Sackpfeifen

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Pars VI fra Mensa Sonora
Sonata – Aria – Canario. Presto – Amener – Trezza – Ciacona – Sonatina. Adagio/Presto

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