Summer Festival 2023: Cecilian Ensemble

Asuka Sumi (baroque violin)
Henrik Persson (baroque cello)
Masumi Yamamoto (harpsichord)

Programme to include:
Carlo Ambrosio Lonati (c.1645-1710)
Ciaccona in g major from 12 Sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo (1701, Milan)
Sonata in g minor from Sixty Six Solo’s or Sonata’s for a Violin, Bass Viol or Harpsichord (British Library)
Sonata in d minor from Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Modena, Mus.F280

Alessandro Stradella (1643-1682)
Sinfonia in d minor from Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Modena, Mus.G210

Carlo Mannelli (1640-1697)
Sinfonia in a minor from Primo Libro di Sinfonie, op 1 (Biblioteca Nazional Universitaria in Torino)

Giovanni Lorenzo Lulier (c.1662-1700)
Sonata for Violoncello and B.C. (Bodlain Library, Oxford)

Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Sonata in A major from Sixty Six Solo’s or Sonata’s for a Violin, Bass Viol or Harpsichord Composed by Several Masters (British Library)

A single iconic violinist dominated the music scene in late 17th century Rome: Arcangelo Corelli. His fame and centrality were legendary, but did his success drown out the voices of lesser-known musicians? This concert uncovers the violinists and composers who worked in Rome and who spun their careers outward from the Italian capital, out of Corelli's shadow.

The first to be explored is Carlo Ambrosio Lonati, a violinist-composer who went by the nickname 'Queen's Hunchback', owing to his physical stature and position as concertmaster for Christina of Sweden. Lonati's departure from Rome with his famous friend in notoriety, Alessandro Stradella, resulted in the dispersal of his works around the continent and into Britain.

The programme also presents works by Lonati's colleagues in Rome, including Mannelli, Lulier and Stradella, featuring an unpublished sonata attributed to young Corelli found in an English source, and will close with Lonati's Ciaccona from his only published collection.

The sound of unheard sonatas from the manuscripts collected from Italian and English sources will astonish listeners with their complex and virtuosic style which was overtaken by the more simplistic style of Corelli, and forgotten thereafter.

Asuka Sumi

Since moving to Leeds in 2015, Asuka Sumi has been invigorating the early music scene in northern England; she has been appointed as a leader of Leeds Baroque Orchestra and appeared on BBC Radio 3 representing musicians in Yorkshire. Asuka studied historical performance in Tokyo under Masaaki Suzuki and in Amsterdam under Lucy van Dael, subsequently obtained her Master degrees from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. In 2013, Asuka won the second prize in the International H.I.F. Biber Competition which led to her debut at the Konzerthaus in Vienna. Besides her busy performances with groups such as the Gabrieli Consort & Players, the English Concert, the London Early Opera, and Manchester Baroque, she regularly coaches the University of York Baroque Orchestra and tutors younger generations as a passionate educator. Asuka is the founder and organiser of Otley Baroque, a chamber concert series which brings first-class musicians around the UK to her local with her vision of ‘Enrich, Enliven, Educate’.

Henrik Persson

Born in Stockholm, Henrik studied baroque cello with Jennifer Ward-Clarke and viola da gamba with Richard Campbell at the Royal Academy of Music, London. Henrik is a regular with Oxford Bach Soloists, Florilegium and the Musical and Amicable Society, with whom he also appears as a soloist. He was first continuo player of the New London Consort and Musicians of the Globe with whom he regularly toured throughout the UK and the world for eight years. He is a founding member of Newe Vialles Consort together with Caroline Ritchie. Recordings include Spiritato!’s The Judgement of Paris by Daniel Purcell, Sweeter Than Roses with soprano Anna Dennis and Sounds Baroque, and Bach cantatas with Amici Voices. He also appears as soloist together with Jonathan Rees and Martin Perkinson the Weston Park Cello Music recording with the Musical and Amicable Society. Henrik is fortunate enough to be able to perform on an original cello by Nicholas Chappuy 1770 and an original viola da gamba by Edward Lewis 1703.

Masumi Yamamoto

Based in London, harpsichordist Masumi Yamamoto has appeared on the concert platform as continuo player for many period-instrument ensembles, including the Gabrieli Consort & Players, the Academy of Ancient Music and The English Concert, as well as modern-instrument groups such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Northern Sinfonia. She was a prize winner at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, and has given solo recitals at the London Handel Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and most recently King’s Lynn Festival. Her discography includes a recording of Handel sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord with Ibrahim Aziz. Masumi is Teacher of Harpsichord at St. Paul’s Girls’ School and James Allen’s Girls’ School.

Go behind the scenes with the Cecilian Ensemble here.