Sunday, September 20
Sermage Palace, 11.00 a.m.
Camerata Garestin
Ivana Lazar, soprano
Nina Tarandek, mezzo-soprano
Krešimir Lazar, baroque cello
Krešimir Has, organ and octave virginal
Morning concert
Giovanni Legrenzi
400th Anniversary of His Birth
O vos insipients mortales, motet for two sopranos and basso continuo from the collection Sentimenti devoti, op. 6
Quam Amarum est, Maria, motet-dialogue for two sopranos and basso continuo from the collection Harmonia ‘affetti devoti, op.3
Hodie colletantur Coeli, motet for two sopranos and basso continuo from the collection Harmonia´affetti devoti, op.)
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Bergamasca for organ or harpsichord from the collection Fiori musicali
Claudio Monteverdi
Nigra Sum, sacred concerto for soprano and basso continuo, from the collection Vespro della Beata Vergine
Pulchra es, duet for two sopranos from the collection Vespro della Beata Vergine
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Canzona prima a basso solo, for viola da gamba or cello from the collection Canzoni da sonare a una, due, tre et quattro
Ivan Lukačić
Sancti mei
Corde et animo
Domine quinque talenta
motets for two sopranos and basso continuo from the collection Sacrae cantiones
(©Amel Kobić)
Camerata Garestin brings together some of Croatia's leading performers specialising in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music. The ensemble was founded in 2008 at the initiative of the Varaždin-born cellist Krešimir Lazar, together with soprano Ivana Lazar, flautist Dani Bošnjak, and harpsichordist and organist Krešimir Has, musicians whose distinguished careers have made a significant contribution to Croatia's cultural and artistic life. The ensemble's artistic profile centres on carefully curated thematic programmes presenting masterpieces by European and Croatian composers from the High Renaissance to the early Classical period. It is particularly dedicated to promoting Croatia's musical heritage, with a special focus on the works of Ivan Lukačić, Vinko Jelić, Gabriel Puliti, Tomas Cecchini and Ivan Šibenčanin. This commitment has been recognised through the continued support of the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media, as well as through widespread critical acclaim. In addition to performing throughout Croatia, Camerata Garestin has appeared internationally in Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Netherlands. Highlights include performances at the prestigious SEVIQC Brežice Festival, the Croatian Music Festival in Vienna, including a concert in the historic Hofburg Chapel, and concerts in Voorschoten and The Hague, where Camerata Garestin became the first Croatian early music ensemble to receive a professional engagement in the Netherlands. At the 47th Varaždin Baroque Evenings, the ensemble received the Jurica Murai Award. In 2018, it released the album Vulnerasti cor meum, featuring works by Croatian composers of the early Baroque.
Croatian soprano Ivana Lazar graduated in Voice from the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb, where she studied with Mira Zidarić-Orešković, and later completed her Master's degree under the guidance of Lidija Horvat-Dunjko. She further refined her artistry with Dunja Vejzović, Konrad Richter and Olivera Miljaković. Upon graduation, she received the Marija Borčić Award, presented by the Academy of Music to its most outstanding graduate. She is also the recipient of the Darko Lukić Diploma, the Milka Trnina Award of the Croatian Society of Music Artists, the Jurica Murai Award for Best Performance at the Varaždin Baroque Evenings (twice), the Tito Strozzi Award for her portrayal of Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and the Croatian Theatre Award for her interpretation of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute. For many years, Ivana Lazar has been one of Croatia's leading interpreters of Baroque, pre-Classical and Classical repertoire. She has appeared as a soloist with the Croatian Baroque Ensemble, is a co-founder of the early music ensemble Camerata Garestin, and regularly collaborates as a soloist with the Croatian Radiotelevision Choir. Alongside her concert career, she has developed an outstanding operatic profile. She made her debut with the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb in 2001 in Puccini's Suor Angelica. Since then, she has performed numerous leading coloratura roles, including Gilda (Rigoletto), the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), Ophélie (Hamlet), Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Clorinda (La Cenerentola) and Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), among many others. She has appeared with many distinguished orchestras in Croatia and abroad, including the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra and the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra. For several seasons she has also been a soloist with the internationally acclaimed Strasbourg-based ensemble Le Parlement de Musique. She has performed at Croatia's leading music festivals, including the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Varaždin Baroque Evenings, Osor Musical Evenings, Split Summer Festival and Rijeka Summer Nights. Between 2006 and 2008, she was a scholarship holder of the CEE-Musiktheater/Deutsche Bank programme in Vienna. Ivana Lazar is a principal soloist of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.
(©Melina Johannsen)
Nina Tarandek began her musical education at the Varaždin School of Music, where she studied music theory and voice under Darija Hreljanović. She completed her studies in opera singing at the Music and Arts Private University (MUK) in Vienna under Julia Conwell and Ute Schwabe, and continued her training in Lied and oratorio with the renowned soprano Birgid Steinberger and répétiteur Carolyn Hague. In 2006, she won First Prize at the Fidelio Competition in Vienna, and in 2018 was nominated by the German magazine Opernwelt for Singer of the Year. A long-standing member of the ensemble of Oper Frankfurt, she has appeared in a wide range of acclaimed roles, including Angelina (La Cenerentola), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Sesto (Giulio Cesare in Egitto) and Kate (Owen Wingrave). She has appeared as a guest artist at numerous international opera houses and festivals, including Semperoper Dresden, Volksoper Wien, Theater an der Wien, Theater Freiburg, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Vilnius City Opera, the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Oper im Steinbruch in Austria and Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas. As a concert soloist, she has performed with leading orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. She has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Sebastian Weigle, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Leopold Hager, Franz Welser-Möst, Antonello Manacorda, Pablo Heras-Casado, Erik Nielsen, Francesco Lanzillotta, Jader Bignamini, Alexander Soddy, Joana Mallwitz and Thomas Guggeis, and has performed in such prestigious venues as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Rudolfinum in Prague, and Frankfurt's Alte Oper and hr-Sendesaal. A dedicated interpreter of Lied, oratorio and contemporary repertoire, she has appeared at festivals including MITO Settembre Musica in Turin, Ultraschall in Berlin and Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte in Montepulciano. Her discography includes several recordings, among them a complete recording of the songs of Franco Alfano, nominated for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, as well as the CD and DVD recording of the opera Luci mie traditrici (Stradivarius, EuroArts).
Krešimir Lazar completed his primary and secondary music education in his native Varaždin. He graduated from the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb, where he also earned his Master's degree under the guidance of Valter Dešpalj. He is the recipient of numerous awards in Croatia and abroad, including First Prize at the Alfredo Marcosig International Competition in Gorizia (Italy), the Croatian Radiotelevision Amando Ivančić Award, the Rector's Award of the University of Zagreb, the Dean's Award of the Academy of Music, the Croatian Music Institute Award, and the Award of the Society of University Teachers and Other Scholars in Zagreb. He has performed extensively throughout Europe and Latin America. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, the Croatian Baroque Ensemble, the Croatian Chamber Orchestra and the HGM Jazz Orchestra. Alongside his performing career, he is active as a teacher and jury member. He has taught at the international Strings Only Festival in Zadar and has served on the juries of the accompanying international competition, the Alfredo and Vanda Marcosig International Competition in Gorizia (Italy), and the Slovenian National Competition for Music Students in Ljubljana. He is a soloist with the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra and a co-founder and soloist of Camerata Garestin and the Amadeus Trio Zagreb. He is also a regular collaborator with the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra. Together with harpsichordist and organist Krešimir Has, he received the Jurica Murai Award for their concert at the 41st Varaždin Baroque Evenings in 2011, presented by the festival jury. He is a Full Professor with tenure at the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb. His recordings have been released by leading Croatian record labels.
Organist and harpsichordist Krešimir Has (Zagreb, 1976) has dedicated his artistic career to the music of the High Renaissance and the Baroque. He performs regularly at leading Croatian and international festivals and concert venues devoted to early music. After completing his studies in organ and harpsichord at the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb, and pursuing further studies at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, he has for many years been active as a performer, recording artist, editor of scholarly music editions and organiser, making a significant contribution to the development of Croatia's early music scene. He has prepared and edited numerous editions of works by Croatian composers of the Renaissance and the early and mature Baroque, thereby making an important contribution to the research, preservation and promotion of Croatia's musical heritage. He is a co-founder of the Varaždin-based early music ensemble Camerata Garestin, which regularly represents the Varaždin Baroque Evenings at international festivals and concert venues. As a soloist and specialist in basso continuo and improvisation, he devotes particular attention to rarely performed repertoire for harpsichord and organ, with a special emphasis on Croatian early music.