Concert of Sacred Music
SOLEMN VESPERS OF THE REDEEMER
According to the tradition of the Cappella of St. Mark's.
Ensamble VeniDilecteMi of Venice
Maestro concertatore e direttore: Jonathan Pradella
Artistic Director: Roberta Reeder
Friday July 18.2008 - at 8:30 p.m.
Redentore Church, Giudecca - Venezia
PROGRAM
A. GABRIELI
O crux splendidior cunctis astris
C. MONTEVERDI
Christe, adoramus te
A. GRANDI
Iesu mi dulcissime
Dixit Dominus
Magnificat
A. BALBI
Factum est proelium
Dignum est Agnus
A. ROVETTA
De profundis
The Association MusicaVenezia, and Dr. Roberta Reeder, Artistic Director, will present the reconstruction of a celebration of the mid-17th century with psalms and double choir and antiphons concertate by Monteverdi, Grandi, Rovetta, Balbi, and Gabrieli. It will be the First Vespers of the great civic feast which today will again be heard after careful research using the oldest sources of Venetian liturgical music preserved at the Levi Foundation and the Correr Museum.
The concert will include music for double choir, soloists and early instruments, but also the singing of the original patriarchine antiphons and psalms in falso bordone. This will be the third event in the Festival Monteverdi di Venezia 2008 and will be performed by the Vocal and Instrumental Group VeniDilecteMi conducted by Jonathan Pradella, who on this occasion will present an ensemble of twelve singers and five instruments.
As noted, the festival is connected to the vow which Venice made to Christ the Redeemer in 1576 to obtain liberation from the terrible plague which was decimating the Venetian population. Placing their trust in the Cross as the only hope of salvation, the Senate decreed the construction of a church and an annual pilgrimage. Venice, with Christian gratitude and with the intuition which was perhaps also rational, continues this secular tradition until today. The singing of the Vespers of the Redeemer, therefore, has the characteristics both of a joyous debt of gratitude for the past, but also of a profound entreaty for the future.
The ensemble VeniDilectMi, originating in the choir of the Basilica of St. Mark's in Venice, focuses on exploring the moment of the encounter between the great Franco-Flemish polyphony and the Italian tradition until the first Baroque, through research on sound and the word, in awareness of the profound and indissoluble link between the musical mode of thinking of the Renaissance masters and the spirituality which is expressed. The group participated in the international Festival in Palestrina (Rome) and Forli and, in spite of being formed recently, has already had concerts in numerous Italian cities with strong confirmation of their high quality from the public and critics.
Among the pieces chosen written by composers active in St. Mark's, but also in other churches of Venice, certain pieces stand out, such as O crux splendidior for 8 voices by A. Gabrieli, probably composed namely for the Church of the Redeemer on the occasion of setting down the first stone; Christe, adoramus te for 5 voices and continuo by Monteverdi; by A. Grandi: Iesu mi dulcissime for soprano and basso continuo; Dixit Dominus and Magnificat concertati for 10 voices and basso continuo. Pieces for organ and instrumental pieces by Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli and by G.B. Fonatana will also be performed.