French Splendours: from Dauvergne & Campra Reflections of Elegance and Devotion

Programme

Antoine Dauvergne (1713–1797) – Deuxième concert de symphonie

    Ouverture

 Minuetto grazioso – Minuetto secondo

 Andante

 Andantino

 Allegro – Allegro secondo

 Vivace – Vivace secondo

 Chaconne

André Campra (1660–1744)

Requiem (Messe de Requiem) 

 Requiem aeternam – Introitus

 Kyrie

 Graduel – Requiem aeternam

 Offertoire – Domine Jesu Christe

 Sanctus

 Agnus Dei

Performers

              Conductor: Bruno Procopio

  The Abos Project and Consort

              Valletta International Baroque Ensemble (VIBE)

Programme Notes

Antoine Dauvergne (1713–1797) – Deuxième concert de symphonie 

A composer and virtuoso violinist, Antoine Dauvergne embodies the spirit of French instrumental music in the mid-eighteenth century. His Concerts de symphonie contributed to the emergence of a galant style — elegant, expressive, and graceful — while heralding the first impulses of classicism. The Second Concert reveals subtle refinement in orchestral writing: airy melodic lines, lively dialogues between instrumental groups, and a perfect balance between the French gracefulness and the budding vigour of the European symphonic style. This repertoire, still too rarely performed, unveils all the inventiveness of a time in transition.

André Campra (1660–1744) – Requiem 

A masterpiece of the Grand Siècle, André Campra’s Requiem (also known as the Messe des morts) combines the solemnity of liturgical ceremony with profound human emotion. Composed during the composer’s final years, this mass stands as a pinnacle of balance between the polyphonic tradition inherited from the Renaissance and the expressive impulses of the French Baroque. The richness of the choral writing, the melodic invention, and the breadth of the soundscapes invite the listener to a majestic meditation on death and hope. Rarely performed in concert, this Requiem offers a stunning immersion into the luminous spirituality of eighteenth-century France

Biographies

Bruno Procopio – Harpsichordist and Conductor

A graduate of the Paris Conservatory, Bruno Procopio has built a distinguished international career as both conductor and harpsichordist.

He has conducted at leading venues and festivals worldwide, including the Margrave’s Opera House in Bayreuth, Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Edinburgh International Festival, Cheltenham Festival (UK), Semana de Música Religiosa de Cuenca (Spain), Bozar in Brussels, Les Folles Journées in Nantes, La Chaise-Dieu Festival (France), Simón Bolívar Hall (Caracas, Venezuela), the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Cathédrale des Invalides in Paris, the Fundação Gulbenkian in Lisbon, Festival Berlioz (France), and the Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon), alongside tours across China, India, Iran, and Indonesia.

He has collaborated with many of the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra (OSB), the Liège Royal Philharmonic (Belgium), Les Siècles Choir and Orchestra, Orchestre Lamoureux (Paris), Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP), the Manaus Opera Orchestra (Brazil), Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre d’Auvergne, Minas Gerais Philharmonic (Brazil), Costa Rica National Symphony, Tenerife Baroque Orchestra (Spain), the AMA-UNAM Orchestra and Choir (Mexico), and numerous others. In 2013 he also founded the Simón Bolívar Baroque Orchestra within El Sistema.

His most ambitious project to date, the Jeune Orchestre Rameau, founded in 2019, unites sixty musicians from twenty-two nationalities performing on period instruments. Their debut album, awarded the Prix d’Excellence by Scherzo (Spain), embodies his vision of an inclusive, vibrant, and forward-looking transmission of musical heritage.

Procopio is also a regular guest conductor of opera at Rio de Janeiro’s Theatro Municipal with the OSB. His staged productions there have garnered wide acclaim, notably the modern premiere of L’Oro non compra amore (Lisbon, 1804) by Luso-Brazilian composer Marcos Portugal, one of the most performed operas of the early 19th century, and Renaud (1783) by Antonio Sacchini, directed by André Heller, associate director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, in a co-production with the Palazzetto Bru Zane (Centre de musique romantique française, Venice).

He works closely with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles (CMBV), bringing French Baroque repertoire to major South American opera houses and orchestras, with whom he has established long-term artistic partnerships.

As a harpsichordist, Procopio has recorded J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the complete Partitas, the complete Württemberg Sonatas by C.P.E. Bach, the complete Sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord by J.S. Bach, Rameau’s complete Pièces de clavecin en concert, and Portrait d’Iris, a disc devoted to François Couperin. As a conductor, he has recorded Marcos Portugal’s Missa Grande (Lisbon, 1785) and Matinas do Natal (Rio de Janeiro, 1811).

A frequent guest with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, he led the acclaimed recording Rameau in Caracas, which received a Choc from Classica, 5 Diapasons, and was named Album of the Week by Le Figaro (France) and Classic FM (UK).

As founder of Paraty Productions, a record label distributed worldwide by Universal, he has produced more than 500 albums and supported over 150 artists, with the label awarded France’s Victoire de la Musique Classique.

The Abos Project and Consort

The Abos Project, led by Gillian Zammit, represents a vital commitment to baroque vocal techniques. Previously known as the Monteverdi Project, this educational/musicological project was created with the aim of raising awareness of the vocality of Renaissance and Baroque periods in Malta. The future of the project is particularly oriented to the revaluation of the vocal and instrumental works of the Maltese composer Girolamo Abos, whose impressive musical legacy has recently emerged. This vocal ensemble recently collaborated on the score for Castillo, a Maltese film inspired by Clare Azzopardi's novel Castillo, exploring themes of family, identity, and heritage. This film has been a great success since its premiere in September 2024. 

Valletta Baroque Ensemble (VIBE)

The Valletta Baroque Ensemble (ViBE) is Malta’s leading group specialising in early music, performing on period instruments with historically informed style. Founded in December 2012 by a group of early music enthusiast musicians, ViBE was created to bring a dedicated baroque ensemble to the island. Its debut concert, featuring the celebrated soprano Dame Emma Kirkby at St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta, immediately established its reputation for artistry and style.

ViBE has since become the resident ensemble of the Valletta International Baroque Festival, performing many of the festival’s highlight productions. Its repertoire spans Handel’s Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks, Monteverdi’s Vespers, Biber’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Belshazzar, and the Dettingen Te Deum. Combining leading Maltese musicians with international baroque musicians, the ensemble delivers performances that are both lively and historically informed.

In 2025, marking the 350th anniversary of Alessandro Scarlatti’s birth, ViBE dedicated a series of performances to his works, including his oratorio La Giuditta, lesser-known string quartets, orchestral music, and the Stabat Mater, presented in collaboration with KorMalta.

ViBE has also performed internationally, appearing at concerts and festivals in the UK, Belgium, Madrid, Paris, Berlin and Italy, further extending the reach of Malta’s early-music tradition.

Through its festival performances, international engagements, and local projects, ViBE has become a central part of Malta’s baroque music scene, enriching the island’s cultural life and bringing historic music to contemporary audiences.