• Tassilo Erhardt violin & viola d’amore
• Sally Holman bassoon
• David Miller lute & archlute
• Mark Caudle bass viol & violoncello
• Mary Pells violoncello
• Essex Baroque Orchestra
• directed by Steven Devine

Those who know only The Four Seasons can have no inkling of the great variety of Vivaldi’s concertos, and the inventive way in which he uses an extraordinary range of different instruments. This concert brings together three concertos written for the famous Dresden court orchestra, richly scored with recorders, oboes, bassoon, string soloists and orchestra, with concertos probably written for girls in Vivaldi’s own group at the Pietà, the famous Venetian orphanage.

There will be virtuoso solo concertos for viola d’amore and bassoon, and two powerful double concertos: for two violoncellos and for violin and viola all’inglese – Vivaldi’s name for the viola da gamba or bass viol.

Tassilo Erhardt, Sally Holman and Mary Pells play regularly in Essex Baroque Orchestra, while Mark Caudle is an old friend of the Festival (he played in the very first concerts in 1987), and gave a very successful solo recital in the 2002 Festival.