Tropical Baroque — Ensemble Bonne Corde’s German Debut
Tage Alter Musik Regensburg · 24 May 2026
Ensemble Bonne Corde made its German debut at Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, one of Europe’s leading festivals dedicated to early music, with Tropical Baroque, a programme centred on the Concerti Grossi of Portuguese composer António Pereira da Costa, presented alongside works by Arcangelo Corelli, Francesco Geminiani and Nicola Porpora.
Held at the Basilika Unserer Lieben Frau zur Alten Kapelle in Regensburg, the concert received widespread attention from the German and international press, which praised the ensemble’s quality of performance, clarity of sound and the playing of Diana Vinagre as both cellist and artistic director.
Critical Acclaim
For Ingo Negwer of Gelsenkirchen-Barock, the ten musicians conducted by Diana Vinagre played with “temperament and incisiveness”, distinguished by their “precise articulation and transparency of interpretation”, despite the acoustic challenges of the church.
The performance of Corelli’s Concerto grosso in D major, Op. 6 No. 1, was praised for its “graceful elegance”. Negwer also singled out Diana Vinagre’s performance as soloist in Nicola Porpora’s Cello Concerto in A minor, describing the Adagio, accompanied only by theorbo and cello, as “ravishingly beautiful”.
“The ten musicians, under the direction of Diana Vinagre, played with temperament and incisiveness. Despite the delicate acoustics of the richly ornamented High Baroque church, they impressed with precise articulation and transparency of interpretation.”
“In Nicola Porpora’s Cello Concerto in A minor, Diana Vinagre proved herself an excellent soloist. Ravishingly beautiful: the Adagio, accompanied only by theorbo and cello!”
Auf Entdeckungsreise an der Donau. Die 41. Tage Alter Musik in Regensburg
Ingo Negwer, Gelsenkirchen-Barock, 2026
Juan Martin Koch, writing for Mittelbayerische Zeitung and Neue Musikzeitung, likewise highlighted the quality of the performances of Pereira da Costa’s Concerti, considering the Portuguese works fully capable of standing alongside the repertoire of Corelli and Geminiani.
“Pereira’s Concerti, Op. 1 Nos. 6, 9 and 10, proved, in the ensemble’s committed and exceptionally high-level performances, perfectly capable of competing with the competition.”
Koch also praised Diana Vinagre as soloist in Porpora’s concerto and highlighted the dialogue she established with violinists Yukié Yamaguchi and Guadalupe del Moral in a chamber-music episode from Geminiani’s Concerto Op. 7 No. 2.
The critic characterised Ensemble Bonne Corde’s approach as “refined understatement”, a phrase repeated in both publications.
Für diese magischen Momente muss man dieses Festival einfach lieben
Juan Martin Koch, Mittelbayerische Zeitung, 26 May 2026
Erstklassige Grundversorgung: Eindrücke von den Tagen Alter Musik Regensburg 2026
Juan Martin Koch, Neue Musikzeitung, 26 May 2026
The international response also extended to the Italian press. For Jacopo Dentice of Blogfoolk, the musicians played “with great care and precision”, while he also highlighted the “elegant restraint of Bonne Corde”.
Scoperta e riscoperta: viaggio nei Tage Alter Musik di Ratisbona
Jacopo Dentice, Blogfoolk, 10 June 2026
Featured on Radio
The concert was also featured by BR-Klassik / SWR Kultur, which broadcast performances of works by Corelli and António Pereira da Costa by Ensemble Bonne Corde, marking the ensemble’s German debut.
The appearance at Tage Alter Musik Regensburg thus represented an important milestone in the international development of Ensemble Bonne Corde and in bringing the music of António Pereira da Costa to new audiences, further establishing the Portuguese eighteenth-century composer’s work within the international early-music scene.