Artistic supervision of the festival
Dimos Goudaroulis
During the second half of the 17th century, a song genre flourished in England that soon became very popular. It combined poetry, drama and music in an original way and became known as
Mad Songs. Composers such as Henry and David Purcell, John Blow and John Eccles wrote a wealth of songs with highly experimental character, complex forms and melodies, bold harmonies and dramatic emotional changes inspired by the theme of madness. French soprano Chantal Santon Jeffery, who performs in Europe’s greatest halls, operas and festivals, is joined by a Franco-Greek ensemble of outstanding musicians. Together, they present the
Mad Songs, usually written for voice and bass continuo, in original transcriptions that emphasize the distinctive and refined timbres of the ensemble’s rare baroque instruments.