In this practice the text must be “spoken” as much by the instruments as by the voices: the entire ensemble strives toward a blend in which the individual strands of polyphony or the “choral” declamation cannot always be identified as vocal or instrumental.Īfter the death of his uncle, Giovanni was the principal composer of ceremonial music at St. A clear example is Salvator noster à 15 heard here, a large-scale ceremonial work in which the forces were often more instrumental than vocal. Even in motets without obbligati, however, the range of certain parts implies the use of instruments, and some pieces which are fully texted in all voices nonetheless carry the indication voce on only a few parts (usually one per choir). In his hands the Venetian concerto took on new brilliance through the extension of vocal and instrumental ranges, the use of affective, hyper-expressive harmonies, and the ample use of instrumental obbligati with elaborate written-out ornamentation. From the time of his successful audition in 1585 at the basilica until his death in 1612, Gabrieli held the position of first organist, a post which he inherited from his uncle. Giovanni, on the other hand, virtually embodies the polychoral concerto, since all of his sacred works are in this genre. Only Andrea was working consistently in this style, and two years after his death in 1585, his nephew Giovanni finally published his uncle’s monumental polychoral works. Mark’s in 1566, the polychoral concerto style, pioneered by Willaert a decade earlier, had not yet taken hold. Here he was exposed to a cosmopolitan musical culture and the grand ceremonial style of Lasso, which he would later adapt so successfully to Venetian circumstances. Mark’s, Andrea would collaborate with Orlando di Lasso in the retinue of Albrecht V of Bavaria. We should probably be thankful for his failure, because during the years prior to his appointment to a permanent position at St. Mark’s, being passed over in favor of Claudio Merulo. In 1557 Andrea Gabrieli unsuccessfully auditioned for the position of organist at St. Perhaps the figurations in some of these canzonas were inspired by Bassano’s playing and by his book on improvising ornamentation. He would have been one of the cornettists for whom Gabrieli wrote his wonderful instrumental canzonas and sonatas. Mark’s for many years, until his death in 1617. He was also a virtuoso of the cornetto, serving as director of the instrumental band at St. Giovanni Bassano was a skilled composer in many genres, including grand polychoral sacred music. The first of Gabrieli’s is a contrafactum with a sacred text on his madrigal, “O che felice giorno”. We have used the first of these, based on a familiar Gregorian chant sung at Christmastime, as a kind of refrain in three different settings, one by Giovanni Bassano and two by Giovanni Gabrieli. The motets heard here include polychoral settings – and in some cases multiple settings – of some of the most familiar Latin Christmas texts: Hodie Christus natus est (Today Christ is born), Quem vidistis pastores (Whom do you see, Shepherds), and Angelus ad pastores (The angel said to the shepherds). Most of the music was written by three musicians closely tied to the basilica: Giovanni Bassano, Andrea Gabrieli and, above-all, Andrea’s masterful nephew, Giovanni Gabrieli. Mark’s and other Venetian churches, and experience the sumptuous sounds with which Venetians celebrated the holidays. In this Christmas concert, we do not attempt to reconstruct any particular service or event, but rather to invite the listener to follow the Doge’s musical chapel to St. All would have been superbly placed to hear the musicians and singers deployed in the choir lofts above and in an array of little balconies and structures. On feast days of particular political importance to the Serenessima, the Doge sat on an impressive throne in front of the main altar, his guests at his side and the Venetian nobility arranged nearby. The Venetians loved pomp and splendor in all things indeed, laws were periodically passed limiting public displays of wealth. Mark’s Basilica lay not as much in its ecclesiastical authority (it was not, after all, the cathedral of Venice) as from the power of the state, and particularly the Doge, whose private chapel it was.
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