PERIGUEUX: The two main concerts on wednesday became outstanding – completely different events.

Chani & Nadja Lesaulnier at Château des Izards, Perigord. Foto: Henning Høholt

The first one was presenting the two sisters Chani & Nadja Lesaulnier: In the afternoon at Chateaudes Izards wit a splendid and outstanding programme named: “Le Petit Concert Baroque” including music by Georg Friedrich Händel, Johann Sebastian Bach and as finale Antonio Vivaldi´s Concerto RV 532, played on two harpsichords.

They started in the best baroque Händel style with his Water music, the secodn suite in F major. Which includes Ouverture, Adagio & Staccato and finishing with an allegro part. The two harpsisichordists Chani & Nadja Lesaulnier has a seriouse feeling of the baroque style, they are working with and are bringing this out to the  audience. They have both been studying the art of transscription of the kind of works they are performing
. These transsriptions of parts which was usually made for singers and harpsichord or orchestra has been transcribed later to the style how they are being performed in the programme the audience attends to day in “Le Petit Concert Baroque”.

This is working very well, and it is a great idea to present such a kind of concert.

Johann Sebastian Bach followed after the Händel opening with two cantatas: “Weinen; Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen” BWV 12 and BWV 5  “Wo soll ich flieshen ihn”. But then something specially happend in the program: Händel: Rinaldo, well formed and perfromed. After the ouverture the audience got told a short version of the Rinaldo history, and performed as a small theatre piece which gave the audence a good possibility to understand what it was all about. – By bringing in the theatrrical aspect, which is on the history, in to this concert performance, was a simple, but ingeniouse way of making the back ground for the concert alive.  After this first part of the concert the two wonderful soloists had to come on stage three times to receive applause, as the applause wouldn´t stop.

After the break the concerti continued with more Händel in the same way, with excerpts from “The Occasional Oratorio”, “Tamerlano” and ending up with “Floridante”. Before it all ended with Vivaldi, as mentoned din the opening.

About: Chani & Nadja Lesaulnier:

Chani & Nadja Lesaulnier. Foto: Henning Høholt

The tell to Kulturkompasset: “As musicians harpsichordists and sisters, we have been brought up on the original works for two harpsichords and have enjoyed thsi repertoire. Each pice has its own quality and, apart from the Bach concerti.  The freedom of interpretation characteristic of the baroque pariod naturally suggested transcriptions. This artistic exersice, performed on otherwise short-lived and seldom published gems, was common currency during the Enlightment. AT court and in salons, people were accustomed to hearing the best and most fashionable opera arias and other orchestral music again without necessarily feeling obliged to respect their original instrumentation.

Whereas the idea for a transcription is simple enough, its realisation becomes a skilled art. No one piece is like another and a string of puzzles, all of which have served to incite our curiosity and have led us to redouble our efforts, putting our taste to the burning coats of doubt.

Whatever the cae Mr. Händel looks over, his genius guiding and teaching us”.

The duo Le Petit Concert Baroque was founded by the harpsichordist sisters Chani & Nadja Lesaulnier in 2002. Born in 1984 and 1986 in Aix en Provence, the Lesaulnier sisters studied with Pierre Hantal and Elisabeth Joyé in Paris, the with Béatrice Marin and Manfredo Kramemer at he ESMUC in Barelona in 2003. Chani & Nadja Lesaulnier started their studying at the Schola Cabtorum Basiliensis among others with Jesper B. Christensen, Andreas Marcon and Jörg-Andreas Böttischer, as well as with Andreas Scholl aand Gerd Türk in Basel they both completed a harpsichord Soloist Diploma withhonour in 2007. Since 2008, Le Petit Concert Baroque has played in european festivals including Vienna, Stuttgart, Zürich, Utrecht and Venise

. The duo was prize-winner in competitions in Melk and Rovereto.

www.lepetitconcertbaroque.com