• ENSEMBLE SAVADI
• Kristine Jaunalskne & Ulrike Hofbauer soprano
• Marie Bournisien Baroque harp

Savadi makes a welcome return to the Festival after its outstanding concert in the 2005-6 winter series. Its three members come from Latvia, Germany and France, and studied together in Basle. They won the 2003 Van Wassanaer Concours at The Hague, and since then have performed in festivals and concert series throughout Europe. Savadi means ‘in another way’ in Latvian, and the group is unique in performing the Baroque repertory for one and two sopranos with the beautiful and flexible accompaniment of the Italian Baroque triple harp.

Their new programme, Fabellae, is drawn from the rich repertory of Italian sacred music written in the first half of the seventeenth century. It brings together narrative motets that praise particular saints and recount their exploits for the edification of the faithful. The saints include Mary, Mary Magdalen, Peter, Ignatius and Francis Xavier, and the composers include Sigismondo D’India, Barbara Strozzi, Giovanni Rovetta and Giacomo Carissimi.  ‘Their fascinating programme was carefully and cleverly chosen, presented with equal measure of humour and scholarship, and brilliantly performed.’ Stephen Varcoe