Polish Baroque Ensemble Il Giardino d’Amore Debuts at Canary Islands Festival

The 42nd International Music Festival of the Canary Islands (FIMC) is showcasing a truly special group this year. The Polish ensemble Il Giardino d’Amore is touring the Canary Islands with five concerts, bringing their unique baroque music. Led by its founder, violinist Stefan Plewniak, the group will perform famous works by composers like Vivaldi, Bach, Corelli, and Purcell.

Their program, called "The Birth of the Concerto," began this Friday at the Víctor Fernández Gopar El Salinero Theater in Lanzarote. The tour continues today, Saturday, at the Fuerteventura Training and Congress Palace. On Sunday, the musicians will perform at the Pérez Galdós Theater in Gran Canaria, followed by a concert on Tuesday at the Leal Theater in La Laguna, Tenerife. The tour wraps up on Wednesday at the Circo de Marte Theater in La Palma. Tickets, priced between 10 and 30 euros, can be bought on the festival's website, www.festivaldecanarias.com, and through the usual ticket platforms for each venue.

This marks Il Giardino d’Amore's first performance at the FIMC. Stefan Plewniak founded the group in Krakow in 2011, while he was also performing with Jordi Savall's Le Concert des Nations. Inspired by Savall, he gathered friends who wanted to play music with deep emotion and expression. The name, Il Giardino d’Amore (meaning 'garden of love'), reflects this idea: a shared space where art grows through the bond between its musicians.

They have quickly become a leading name in baroque music, with critics often comparing their energetic performances to those of rock stars. The group recently won the Fryderyk Award for Album of the Year for "Orfeo & Euridice," a collaboration with Polish countertenor Jakub Orlinski.

Il Giardino d’Amore's program for the Islands is arranged by emotion, not strict chronology. Besides the composers already mentioned, they also feature works by Leclair, Rebel, Westhoff, Tartini, and Locke. The concert opens with Antonio Vivaldi's Chaconne from Violin Concerto Op. 9, a solemn start that contrasts with the lively, percussive "Tambourine" by Jean-Marie Leclair. This is followed by Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 4, and then "Chaos" from Jean-Féry Rebel's "Les Éléments."

The violin's expressive range is highlighted in Johann Paul von Westhoff's "Imitazione delle Campane." Listeners will then hear excerpts from Bach's D minor and A minor concertos, before Giuseppe Tartini's "Il trillo del diavolo" (The Devil's Trill).

The concert's final section moves to an English theatrical mood with Matthew Locke's "The Tempest." This dramatic piece is balanced with more Vivaldi, featuring parts of his Concerto for Two Violins and Cello. After another nod to British music with Henry Purcell's "Timon of Athens," Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Violins brings the concert to a close. The evening ends with a captivating interplay of sound moving between the musicians, showcasing the strong connection within the Polish ensemble.