Sibbe Live!: I fortunati
Katriina Rainio, barock violin
Tuomas Kourula, theorbo and archlute
Topias Tiheäsalo, barock guitar
Jouni Pusa, percussion
I fortunati is an early music ensemble founded by Tuomas Kourula and Topias Tiheäsalo in 2018, focusing especially on early Baroque plucked string instrument music. Together they have made arrangements based on 17th century Italian, Spanish and French repertoire. These arrangements, in turn, provide a springboard for improvisation: the dance and variation pieces of the period were like jazz standards of their time, which each musician was allowed to manipulate according to his or her talents and imagination.
I fortunati also acts as a continuo group, accompanying songs by Claudio Monteverdi. Sometimes the band takes a more rhythmic form when percussionist Jouni Pusa joins the line-up. In late 2023, the ensemble expanded to four members when violinist Katriina Rainio joined. The baroque violin is the most natural musical addition and extension to the rhythmic-harmonic fabric created by two old plucked string instruments and percussion instruments!
The Sibelius Museum concert will feature the ensemble’s vision of compositions by Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger, Alessandro Piccinini, Antonio Bertali, Gaspar Sanz, Santiago de Murcia, Robert de Visée and others. You can expect lively rhythms, rich improvisations and beautifully tuned harmonies!