Concerto Italiano . Rinaldo Alessandrini

Monteverdi's (1567-1643) fame as a composer of church music derived mainly from his masterly 'Maria Vespers' of 1610. Nonetheless, this work dates from before his appointment as chapel master at the San Marco Basilica in Venice, where for thirty years he was responsible for music during the services. Only a fraction remains of the vast repertoire Monteverdi composed during those thirty years at San Marco, largely in the posthumous collection 'Selva morale e spirituale'. It is from this rich collection which Rinaldo Alessandrini and his Concerto Italiano draw for the reconstruction of a vesper service on the eve of Ascension. Monteverdi's later church music combines the grandeur and sensuality of the 'Maria Vespers' with powerful drama, as if his increasing experience as an opera composer also left its mark on this sacred domain. For some considerable time, Rinaldo Alessandrini has shown himself to be a fervent advocate of this still insufficiently known repertoire, where direct expression and emotion play an integral part. With the fantastic singers and instrumentalists that he has at his disposal, he will undoubtedly present a concert of the highest standard to close the High Days series.