The Habsburg Garden of Eden, Music by Caldara, Bonporti, Handel, Biber, Ziani,Muffat

Featuring

Einat Aronstein
Sophie Wedell
Nora Matthies
Avinoam Shalev
Ensemble Arava
Antonio Caldara

Francesco Antonio Bonporti
George Frideric Handel
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Marc' Antonio Ziani
Georg Muffat

Did you know?

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Historical Context

Unlike the French court at Versailles, Vienna had a strong affinity for Italian music, intensified by tensions between France and Austria during the Dutch War.

Historical Context

The Habsburg Empire, at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, was a unique cultural melting pot, with emperors in Vienna using music to distinguish themselves.

Composer Biography

Francesco Bonporti, an Italian composer and cleric, applied for a Kapellmeister position at the Vienna Hofkapelle but was rejected, despite dedicating works to Empress Maria Theresa.

Performer Biography

Ensemble Arava was awarded first prize and the audience award at the International Competition for Concert Explanation and Presentation in Frankfurt, Germany.

Compositional Technique

Antonio Caldara's arias emphasize vocal brilliance with bravura coloratura and elaborate instrumental accompaniment, primarily to represent imperial power rather than affect or text.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Antonio Caldara, an Italian composer who became vice-chapel master in Vienna, always aimed to satisfy Emperor Charles VI's taste for long and serious operas.

Compositional Technique

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, a German-Bohemian composer, used the violin as a harmonic instrument and experimented with scordatura (detuning) to create new timbres and polyphonic possibilities.