Sacred Treasures of Venice: Motets from the Golden Age of Venetian Polyphony

Featuring

Charles Cole
London Oratory School Schola
Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Bassano
Claudio Merulo
Claudio Monteverdi

Giacomo Finetti
Andrea Gabrieli
Giovanni Croce

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Interpretation

This recording focuses on a cappella repertoire, even though the new Baroque style often mingled choirs and instruments in Venetian music.

Historical Context

The composers featured on this album lived and worked during a unique period of musical transition, marking the culmination of the polyphonic age at the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the Baroque era.

Historical Context

Most composers on this album were associated with St Mark's, the Doge's Ducal Chapel in Venice, a hub of spiritual and political power that attracted top musicians.

Composition History

Giovanni Gabrieli's 'Jubilate Deo omnis terra' includes the text 'Deus Israel coniugat vos,' which likely recalled for Venetians the annual ceremonial marriage of the Doge and the lagoon.

Historical Context

Before Monteverdi's dominance, the 'Three Giovannis'—Giovanni Gabrieli, Giovanni Bassano, and Giovanni Croce—all worked together at St Mark's in Venice, each holding significant musical positions.

Performer Biography

The London Oratory Schola Cantorum is a liturgical choir where the average age of all singers across the four voice parts is fourteen.

Composer Biography

Giovanni Gabrieli, the younger of the two Gabrielis on this album, studied with Lassus in Munich before becoming First Organist at St Mark's in Venice.

Simone de Bonefont: Missa pro Mortuis

Victoria: Missa "Vidi Speciosam"; Motet "Vidi Speciosam"; Responsorium IV; Motet "O Domine Jesu Christe"; Responsorium IV; Responsorium VI; Lectio III; Responsorium IX; Motet "Dum Complerentur"; Motet "Surrexit Pastor Bonus"