An intriguing album intertwining tenor cantatas and recorder sonatas from the Italian Baroque performed by La Tempesta Basel.

Exactly 10 years ago our baroque ensemble (the Berlin ORPHEUS-Opera Magazine called La Tempesta Basel “small, but delightful”) presented its first CD. We began our CD adventure with the Spanish label Enchiriadis (Madrid), featuring the English cantatas and recorder sonatas by Handel contemporary Johann Christoph Pepusch, which not only brought us a lot of attention but also the highest international praise. This debut album was radio broadcast in many countries, with some reviews comparing the Pepusch Sonatas with those of the many times more famous Handel.

The second Tempesta CD (2014) consisted of a Hamburg programme, including Telemann’s church cantatas from the Harmonischer Gottesdienst, in German, and a selection of recorder sonatas. With the master hornist Thomas Müller and Concerto Köln bassoonist Yves Bertin on board, this CD became a beautiful success too. In Spain it was nominated as one of the top 10 CDs of the month, and it also earned the highest accolades in the USA. And again, inspired by the master from Magdeburg, at the end of 2016 Muriel Rochat Rienth recorded Telemann’s 12 Fantasias for Solo Flute with Vanitas.

Now we are presenting La Tempesta Basel’s third recording. The name of the ensemble derives from Vivaldi’s famous flute concerto, La tempesta di mare. The programme is in Italian, including a world-first recording of a work by Giovanni Fischietti (1692-1743). Our harpsichordist Norberto Broggini (an original member of La Tempesta Basel), found the facsimile some years ago in a private library. Based on his photos Muriel Rochat Rienth produced her own transcription, and in 2012 La Tempesta Basel premiered the cantata in Fribourg (Switzerland).