What better way to wile away a winter’s hour than to feast on the music of spring? Even if one might sometimes wish for less warmth, more fire, in this program of Italian Baroque monodies, ground basses and chamber music, the proof is in the pudding. And what fine fare it is.

HIP Company Artistic Director, soprano and arranger Bonny de la Hunty’s printed menu and excellent digital program note whet our appetites. As does Victoria Hall’s small stage, which elegantly evokes an Italian garden setting replete with bottles of wine on tables and roses whose colour complement that of the harpsichord.

HIP Company. Photo © Tallulah Chong

From an aperitivo through primo and secondo piatti to dolce, here is an al fresco song by Frescobaldi followed by instrumental solos showcasing the theorbo (Piccinini), violin (Corelli), and harpsichord (Poglietti).

The main fare comprises Seconda pratica treasures by Caccini father and daughter, a trio sonata by Biagio Marini – incidentally, a fine madrigalist – and songs by Kapsberger and Falconieri, as well as a tarantella by the enigmatic Athanasius Kircher and a bergamasca by Uccellini.

Finally, we are served a delicious, witty mashup ciaccona for dolce: two songs from Monteverdi’s Scherzi Musicali fused with a capriccio by Maurizio Cazzati.

Cavorting nymphs and shepherds and the pains and pleasures of love invariably infuse the lyrics of de la Hunty’s vocal offerings, of which Caccini’s classic Amarilli, mia bella and his daughter’s Ch’amor sia nudo are standouts: limpidly enunciated, gracefully sung and tastefully embellished.

Violinists Sarah Papadopoulos and Eliza McCracken evince a similarly stylish cantabile approach to playing, shining together with stellar gambist Krista Low in the Marini.

Jet Kye Chong. Photo © Tallulah Chong

Equally impressive is theorbo and guitar player Alexis Chin, who showcases his abundant soloistic abilities early on with Piccinini’s Ciaconna in partite variate. Ditto harpsichordist James Huntingford, whose entertaining account of Alessandro Poglietti’s quirky imitation of nightingale song raises more than a few laughs.

Jet Kye Chong has to sit in the wings until later in the program to add his lively colouristic percussion to the mix. But boy, is it worth the wait, his terpsichorean musicality pairing especially well with Chin’s own percussive strumming on Baroque guitar.

The performances aside, Festa Italiana is as good an example of intelligent programming, inventive arrangements and imaginative, if minimal, staging as one could hope to experience anywhere. The bonus is the opportunity for a packed audience to make the acquaintance of some rarely heard repertoire.

For more information on HIP Company in 2026, visit www.hip.company