Born this day in 1632, Giovanni Battista Vitali was one of the several musician-composers of his time who left their mark on the Italian Baroque. Together with his well-known contemporaries Farina, Marini and Legrenzi, he was part of a movement of instrumental virtuosi whose compositions form a vital part of the string instrument repertoire. Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante are just one of the many groups Vlad invites along on today’s Vox Nostra, where we explore the sheer splendour of this period in Italian Baroque music. The Sunday Sonata today features a Vitali double-header as Ensemble Aurora and The Purcell Quartet go head-to-head with selections from the composer’s Op. 2 and Op. 7.
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 18th February, 7am-10am