Following explorations of music from Madrid, Berlin, Venice and London, cellist Ophélie Gaillard’s spotlights baroque Naples in her upcoming album Napoli!

In this video, Gaillard performs the Giga by Nicola Matteis (c.1650-1714), from Ayres for the Violin, Book I on an anonymous Flemish piccolo cello.

’From the end of the 17th century to the beginning of the 18th, the Neopolitan cello school was incredibly vibrant,’ says Gaillard. ’Naples is a city that is impossible to ignore if you want to understand the rise of this instrument. For more than two centuries, the greatest virtuosi succeeded one another here and went on to shine throughout Europe. 

Gaillard is joined by the Pulcinella Orchestra on the album, which is out now on Aparté. Listen here: https://aparte.lnk.to/napoli

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