Vittorio Ghelmi, a superb gambist, conductor and composer, returns to the National Forum of Music. Due to his excellent craft and virtuosity, he is often compared to the legendary American violinist Jascha Heifetz. During the concert, he will conduct Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, presenting works of French Baroque.

 Les élémens is the last work in the catalogue of the French violinist and composer Jean-Féry Rebel, the famous descendant of Jean Rebel – a tenor at the court of Louis XIV. This piece is in fact a ballet composed for an instrumental ensemble, and it opens with an intriguing introduction, Le cahos. The composer was considered a child prodigy from an early age, but later he came under the wings of the great violinist, singer, conductor and composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. Lully’s activity from 1653 focused on serving in the court of Le Roi Soleil. At that time, he wrote music for ballets, but he also tried new genres. In collaboration with Molière, he created a satirical ballet comedy Le bourgeois gentilhomme. During the concert, you will hear the Canarie. Lully’s students included Marin Marais, an accomplished gambist, whose compositions will be played this evening. The style of Marais was often compared with the work of another court artist, an instrumentalist of exceptional virtuosity, Antoine Forqueray. They were considered rivals of the golden era of the French Baroque; while Marais’s playing was often described as angelic, Forqueray was perceived as a devilish performer, full of fiery temperament. During the concert, some of their works will be performed by Wrocław Baroque Orchestra led by Ghelmi.

In the musical culture of France, the figure of Jean-Philippe Rameau occupies a special place – over the years he was active both as a theorist and composer. He was undoubtedly the most important opera composer of the first half of the 18th century in France. Works of this genre penned by him, including Hippolyte et Aricie, Les Boréades, Les Indes galantes, and the opera-ballets: Le temple de la Gloire and Les Fêtes d'Hébé, will sound in fragments, showing the richness of Rameau’s work.