“The Labyrinth and Other Stories”

December 19 at Paliesius Manor—a journey through the labyrinths of early music! The renowned Paolo Pandolfo will perform on the viola da gamba, Andrea Buccarella on the harpsichord, and Thomas Boysen on the lute and Baroque guitar.

The program features the music of Marin Marais, distinguished by its incredible visual power and narrative labyrinths. Among the pieces is the famous “Le Labyrinthe,” a rare example of an “enharmonic labyrinth” that encompasses every possible key. In eighteenth-century chronicles, this work was described as a fantastical tale of a person lost in a maze, experiencing a myriad of emotions—from fear to illusion, from desperation to hope. The story concludes with an unexpectedly happy ending: a charming chaconne that returns to the original key of A major.

Marin Marais’s inventive imagination is simply volcanic and breathtaking. Listening to his music, you will hear everything from the bagpipe-like imitations of a musette to the lightness of “Le jeu du Volant”—a piece describing an early version of the game known today as badminton, where one can almost see the shuttlecock bouncing from one side of the court to the other, fluttering up and down… From the imitation of the guitar—an instrument greatly favored by Louis XIV—reminiscent of accompaniment to a folk song, to a confrontation with mortality in a striking musical epitaph dedicated to the death of his son (“Tombeau pour Marais le Cadet”). From a dramatic musical short story of a surgical operation the composer had to endure, to a gust of wind and notes in “Tourbillon”…

Viola da gamba player Paolo Pandolfo has been called “one of the most brilliant and poetic contemporary players of this instrument” (L. Kemp, “Gramophone”, United Kingdom). For three decades, the musician’s passionate love for his instrument has driven him to explore every aspect of the viola da gamba.

Having gained significant experience in both jazz and classical music, around 1979 Paolo Pandolfo entered the world of early music alongside violinist Enrico Gatti and harpsichordist Rinaldo Alessandrini. He studied under Jordi Savall at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland. From 1982 to 1990, he was a member of Savall’s ensemble Hespèrion XX, touring globally, giving hundreds of concerts, and making dozens of recordings while performing a remarkably broad repertoire spanning from the early Renaissance to the late Baroque.

In 1990, he released C. P. E. Bach’s sonatas for the viola da gamba, thus launching his international solo career. That same year, Pandolfo was appointed professor at his alma mater: he continued and expanded the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis tradition, which is distinguished by international excellence in viola da gamba research and pedagogy.

The musician has released numerous CDs, focusing primarily on the solo viol repertoire (M. Marais, A. Forqueray, M. de St. Colombe, T. Hume, C. F. Abel, J. S. Bach, De Machy, F. Couperin, and others). His adaptation of J. S. Bach’s “Six Solo Suites” for the viol immediately became an essential inclusion in any comprehensive Bach discography and is still used as a benchmark in many academic and artistic contexts today.

An interest in historical improvisation led the musician to the project “Improvisando: 17th Century Jazz”. Pandolfo is also dedicated to contemporary music and composition (“Travel Notes”, “Kind of Satie”, “Violatango”, etc.). Recent notable projects include “Regina Bastarda” (a performance and research project devoted to the virtuosic and deeply poetic music for the Italian viol from around 1600), “A Sentimental Journey” (performing Carl Friedrich Abel’s pre-classical sonatas with basso continuo), and “To the World” (featuring all of Alfonso Ferrabosco’s solo “Lyra-Viol Lessons”). His latest project, “Flow our Tears”, is set to be released around the end of 2026: it will feature Pandolfo’s original compositions, dedicated to and inspired by the new wave of inhumanity the world has been experiencing for several years.

The musician’s recordings have won numerous awards from the world’s leading music magazines. Pandolfo is frequently invited to give concerts and masterclasses across the globe. He continuously strives to build bridges between the past and the present, always blending rigorous philological interpretation with spontaneity and vitality in his performances.

He is convinced that the early music heritage, when combined with renewed improvisational skills, can become a powerful source of inspiration for the future of the Western musical tradition.

Andrea Buccarella is an Italian conductor, harpsichordist, and organist, internationally recognized as one of the leaders in historically informed performance among the new generation of specialists.

In 2018, he won first prize and the Outhere Award at the MA Festival Brugge international harpsichord competition. Following this success, he launched an intensive international career, performing as both soloist and conductor at major festivals and concert halls across Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Japan.

Since 2012, he has served as the artistic and musical director of the Abchordis Ensemble: with this group, he has realized numerous projects dedicated to rediscovering 17th- and 18th-century repertoire. Many of these projects have culminated in modern premieres and world-premiere recordings. Under his direction, the ensemble won first prize at the International Handel Competition in Göttingen in 2015.

In addition to his work with the Abchordis Ensemble, Andrea Buccarella is regularly invited as a guest conductor to prominent period-instrument ensembles and orchestras. These include the Venice Baroque Orchestra, Il Pomo d’Oro, the La Cetra Baroque Orchestra Basel, the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis orchestra.

Among his most important upcoming appearances are G. F. Handel’s opera “Atalanta” at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and a European tour of N. Porpora’s opera “Mitridate” with the ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro in the 2026–2027 season.

Both as a soloist and as a conductor, he has recorded numerous critically acclaimed albums with labels such as Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / Sony Classical, Challenge Classics, Glossa, and Naïve for “The Vivaldi Edition” series. His recordings have garnered major international awards, including the Diapason d’Or, Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Choc de Classica, and Scherzo Excepcional.

Thomas C. Boysen was born in 1970 in Oslo, Norway, into a family of musicians. He studied classical guitar and lute at the Norwegian Academy of Music. After earning his diploma there in 1995, he moved to Germany to study with Prof. Rolf Lislevand at the State University of Music Trossingen.

Upon completing his studies, the musician established himself as a recognized soloist and continuo player. He has collaborated with the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, Collegium Vocale – Gent, Armonico Tributo Austria, Le Poème Harmonique, Akademie für Alte Musik – Berlin, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Emma Kirkby, Rolf Lislevand, Paolo Pandolfo, and other ensembles and performers. He has concertized in numerous European countries, the USA, Hong Kong, Mexico, South Korea, Colombia, and Cuba, and has participated in recording over 70 CDs with labels such as Glossa, Naïve, Sony, Harmonia Mundi, and K617.

He has led summer courses and masterclasses in Germany, Romania, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, the USA, and Norway, and currently teaches lute at the Mozarteum University Salzburg in Austria.