Göteborgs Konserthus Vibrating Baroque

Accademia del Piacere is a leading ensemble of Spanish early music. Most of the ensemble's singers and instrumentalists come from Andalusia and offer a rich mix of southern European music: from the opulent age of the Sun King in France to the virtuosity of the early 17th century in Italy, as well as the religious and secular music of the Renaissance and Baroque in Spain in general and in Andalusia in particular. The Accademia del Piacere has released several records of basic repertoire of historical music, such as the Italian Seicento, and Amori di Marte, based on Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, as well as French chamber music from the court of Louis XIV in Les violas du Ciel et de l'Enfer (nominated for the 2011 International Classical Music Awards). The ensemble was founded in 2002 by the soprano Mariví Blasco and the gambist Fahmi Alqhai, one of the world's foremost virtuosos on the viola da gamba. Fahmi Alqhai began his career as a soloist specializing in the German repertoire and was praised for his versions of Bach sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord. He has toured Europe, Japan, the USA and South America and participated in, among other things, the Bienal de Flamenco in Seville, as well as being involved in contemporary music and jazz. Since 2009, he is also artistic director of FeMAS, Festival de Música Antigua de Sevilla. Baroque soprano Quiteria Muñoz will sing at tonight's concert.