ITALIAN SACRED MUSIC

The 17th century in Italian music was a time of the birth and flourishing of the refined concertato style, also present in sacred music. However, alongside these innovative ideas, the tradition rooted in the works of the master from Palestrina remained very much alive. The equal status of these two contrasting styles is evident in the works of Claudio Monteverdi, who, in his sacred compositions, employed the techniques of both the prima pratica and the seconda pratica with equal mastery. The six-voice motet is one of four works by Monteverdi included in the collection Libro primo de Motetti, published in 1620 by Giulio Cesare Bianchi. The composer, who had served as maestro di cappella at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice since 1613, wrote it for the Good Friday liturgy. Adoramus te captivates with its restraint and elegance, inviting the audience to immerse themselves in reflection and the mystery of faith.

The richness and refinement of the Venetian Baroque musical tradition resonated throughout Europe. It was also shaped by Antonio Lotti, born a hundred years after Monteverdi. He spent almost his entire professional life connected with the famous basilica – as a singer, organist, and eventually as maestro di cappella. Only for two years, beginning in 1717, did he leave the city, having been appointed Kapellmeister of the Italian ensemble at the Dresden court of the King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, Augustus II the Strong. It was there that Lotti composed Credo in F – a work remarkable for its solemn character, concertato style, and expressive treatment of the text, especially in the Crucifixus section, which stands out for its depth of expression. The extraordinary expressive power embedded in dissonant harmonies – though in a very different form – also characterizes the Sinfonia al Santo Sepolcro by Antonio Vivaldi. This concise yet deeply moving instrumental piece, with its paraliturgical character, was written for the observances of Holy Week at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, with which Vivaldi was associated for nearly forty years. Also originating from the City of the Lagoon was Antonio Caldara – one of the most prolific and distinguished composers of the Italian late Baroque. He spent the last two decades of his life in service at the imperial court of Charles VI of Habsburg. It was there that the Missa dolorosa was composed in 1735 – one of the composer’s final Mass cycles, intended for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, established only a few years earlier. Refined rhetorical devices, sophisticated fugues, and masterfully crafted consonance of voices and instruments shape this intensely emotional, almost theatrical depiction of human suffering.

PROGRAM

Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) – Adoramus te

Antonio Lotti (1667–1740) – Credo in F  

Credo | Crucifixus | Et resurrexit | Et unam sanctam | Et vitam venturi

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) – Sinfonia al Sancto Sepolcro

Antonio Caldara (1670–1736) – Missa dolorosa 

Kyrie | Gloria | Credo | Sanctus | Benedictus | Agnus Dei

PERFORMERS

MARTA BOBERSKA SOPRANO 
JAN JAKUB MONOWID COUNTERTENOR
JACEK SZPONARSKI TENOR  
DAWID BIWO BASS 

THE CHAMBER CHOIR OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA

THE PERIOD INSTRUMENTS ENSEMBLE OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA CAPELLA REGIA POLONA

RENATA SZCZYPIOR CHOIR MASTER

KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA HARPSICHORD, POSITIVE ORGAN, CONDUCTOR

Duration: approx. 1h

The seats in the auditorium are not numbered.