The X-tet: Sounds of Italy
The X-tet: Sounds of Italy presents an evening of Italian chamber music spanning the Renaissance and Baroque eras, with repertoire ranging across four centuries. Boston Baroque’s X-tet is joined by Grammy Award-winning soprano Amanda Forsythe and viola da gamba player Cristiano Contadin for music by Vivaldi, Albinoni, Handel, Castello, Bertali, Agnesi, Archilei, Hasse, and others.
The program combines virtuosic instrumental works for strings, theorbo, and harpsichord with vocal selections including Handel’s dramatic cantata *Armida abbandonata* and Antonio Archilei’s “Dalle più alte sfere.” After the folk-inspired “Tarantella del Gargano,” the concert concludes with Colin Jacobsen’s contemporary work *Morgantina Studies*, a five-part piece inspired by discovery and archaeological excavation.
When: Friday, November 13, 2026, and Saturday, November 14, 2026.
Showtimes: Both performances begin at 7:30 PM.
Venue: Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Seully Hall, 8 Fenway, Boston, MA 02215.
Tickets: $30–$70.
Run time: Approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Lineup: Amanda Forsythe, soprano; Cristiano Contadin, viola da gamba; Christina Day Martinson and Jesse Irons, violins; Sarah Darling and Jason Fisher, violas; Cullen O’Neil, cello; Michael Leopold, theorbo; and James Kennerley, harpsichord.
Program: Maria Teresa Agnesi’s “Deh temprate, oh sommi Dei” from *Ulisse in Campania*; Dario Castello’s *Sonata Quarta*; Antonio Bertali’s *Sonata à 6 in D minor*; Tomaso Albinoni’s *Sinfonia a cinque*; Antonio Vivaldi’s *Concerto for Violin and Viola da Gamba in A major, RV 546*; Antonio Archilei’s “Dalle più alte sfere” from *La pellegrina*; George Frideric Handel’s *Armida abbandonata, HWV 105*; Johann Adolph Hasse’s “L’augelletto in lacci stretto” from *Didone abbandonata*; the anonymous *Tarantella del Gargano*; and Colin Jacobsen’s *Morgantina Studies*. The Jacobsen work is arranged in five sections: “Introduction: Excavations,” “The Thrill of Discovery,” “A Closer Examination,” and “A Final Reveal,” following its opening introduction. Program selections and their order may change.
Featured music: Handel’s Italian experience informs the expressive vocal writing of *Armida abbandonata*, while Vivaldi contributes a concerto pairing violin and viola da gamba. The program also highlights Maria Teresa Agnesi, one of eighteenth-century Italy’s prominent women composers; Dario Castello, whose Venetian sonatas helped shape early Baroque instrumental style; and Antonio Archilei, whose late-Renaissance vocal music was connected to the Florentine artistic circles that helped lead toward opera.
Contemporary work: Colin Jacobsen’s *Morgantina Studies* brings a modern perspective to the historical program. Jacobsen, an American violinist, composer, and arranger associated with Brooklyn Rider and the Silkroad Ensemble, draws on folk traditions, improvisation, historical music, and cultural exchange in works that connect earlier musical traditions with contemporary expression.
Note: The program is subject to change.