Antonio Cesti: Natura et quatuor elementa dolentia ad Sepulchrum Christi

Featuring

Alexander Schneider
Johannes Gaubitz
Joowon Chung
Magdalene Harer
Matthias Lutze
Andreas Küppers

Teatro del Mondo
Ensemble Polyharmonique
Antonio Cesti

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Composition History

This oratorio, "Natura et quatuor elementa dolentia ad Sepulchrum Christi," is believed to have been performed on Good Friday 1667 in Vienna.

Compositional Technique

Unlike customary Sepolcri, this work's libretto is written in elaborate Latin, rather than Italian, and uses names from Greek mythology despite its Christian context.

Interpretation

Andreas Küppers prepared and instrumented the score of "Natura et quatuor elementa dolentia ad Sepulchrum Christi" with profound insight to bring Cesti's imaginative music to life.

Composer Biography

Antonio Cesti, the composer, became an ordained Franciscan monk at 14, yet surprisingly few of his sacred compositions have survived.

Compositional Technique

The oratorio features five allegorical figures: Mother Nature and her four daughters, the elements Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, who engage in a reflective dialogue about Jesus's death.

Composer Biography

Cesti was frequently warned by his monastic order due to his involvement in the operatic world as a singer and composer.

Performer Biography

Ensemble Polyharmonique, a collective of European early music singers, focuses on Renaissance and Baroque vocal music, combining German and Franco-Flemish vocal traditions.