Barbara Heindlmeier & La Ninfea spend a day as a gentleman in baroque London “Gentleman for a Day” is la Ninfea’s second production with Perfect Noise, this time with founding member and renowned recorder player Barbara Heindlmeier as the soloist, also known for her excitingly innovative concepts.

When thinking of a true London gentleman, the first thing that comes to mind are top hats and courteous behaviour, elegance and elevated status. Recorder, too? But of course! Well, the fine gentleman didn’t (yet) have a top hat around 1700, but of course it was excellent manners to have a recorder in your pocket for you to, for example, serenade the lady you adored at any given moment - a welcome occasion for Barbara Heindlmeier and her colleagues to be “Gentleman for a Day”. Everything is included: from getting up in the morning to going for a walk, visiting the royal court and going to the opera, to the obligatory five o’clock tea and preparing for the said serenade.

An exciting and busy day plotted out with music by composers such as G.F. Handel, H. Purcell, M. Locke and J. Playford. The Bremen baroque ensemble La Ninfea stands for the highest artistic standards. They have since made a name for themselves with creative, cross-genre concert formats. This baroque ensemble with a varying line-up is completely dedicated to the art of baroque ornamenation and improvisation. Their own contributions such as the divisions on ‘Strawberries and Cream’ or ‘John come kiss me now’ underline the richness of colour, emotional density and fast-moving contrasts so inherent to this repertoire.