Saturday 09 September 2023 | 15:00 |
Reginald Mobley | Countertenor |
Violaine Cochard | Harpsichord |
Christine Plubeau | Viola da Gamba |
Counter tenor Reginal Mobley is one of the leading exponents of his voice category both in his native USA and in Europe. In 2022 he debuted in Handel’s Messiah with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and was also heard in Bach’s cantata Ich habe genug in the New York Carnegie Hall. Nominated for the Grammy Award, as artistic consultant of the Handel & Haydn Society he is especially committed to fostering the music of the Baroque and Classical periods, also to diversity in programme planning, thus his repertoire also covers contemporary music, including Gospel and Spirituals.
In Bayreuth Reginald Mobley joins forces with the harpsichordist Violaine Cochard and the viola da gambist Christine Plubeau to present a uniquely intimate programme. Besides exquisite and poignant songs by the “Orpheus Britannicus” Henry Purcell, and George Frideric Handel’s intensely contemplative cantatas Fra pensieri quel pensiero and Vedendo Amor, the programme includes works by Ignatius Sanchos, who was born on a slave ship in 1729 and sold to England, where, through diligence and talent, he advanced to become an independent businessman and artist and in addition the first black man to participate in British parliamentary elections.