Contrasto Armonico

Marco Vitale [director, harpsichord]
Beatrice Palumbo [soprano]
Dario Luisi, Gabriele Toscani [violins]
Gianni de Rosa [viola]
Marta Semkiw [cello]
Romeo Ciuffa [recorder, traverso]
Michele Carreca [theorbo]

Con­trasto Armon­ico is as lead­ing ensemble which focuses on early music. It was founded in 2004 by Marta Semkiw and Marco Vitale (musi­cal direc­tor). The aim of Con­trasto Armon­ico is to go back to the roots of the HIP “His­tor­i­cally Inspired Per­for­mance”, doing front-line research and advanc­ing the bound­aries of early music per­for­mance prac­tice. The ensemble is con­sti­tuted of musi­cians from all over the world who share the same passion for the Early Music, using copies of orig­i­nal instru­ments, his­tor­i­cal pitches and trans­po­si­tions, keep­ing as a goal the inten­tion to get as close as pos­si­ble to the style and aes­thetic of the work performed. Con­trasto Armon­ico is cur­rently involved in record­ing the com­plete Ital­ian can­tatas by G. F. Han­del, an ambi­tious project which will include all the can­tatas com­posed by Han­del. Con­trasto Armon­ico has per­formed in prestigious con­cert halls and festivals such as Con­cert­ge­bouw Ams­ter­dam, Utrecht Early Music Festival, Styriarte Graz.