Vivaldi, A.: Sacred Music, Vol. 2

Featuring

Kevin Mallon
Tracy Smith Bessette
Marion Newman
Aradia Ensemble
Antonio Vivaldi

Did you know?

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Historical Context

The Ospedale della Pietà, where Vivaldi worked, was one of four charitable institutions in Venice that educated orphaned, indigent, or illegitimate girls, and had a fine musical tradition.

Performer Biography

The Aradia Ensemble, a Toronto-based group, specializes in performing orchestral, operatic, and chamber music on original instruments and has made over 20 recordings for Naxos.

Composer Biography

Vivaldi was ordained a priest in 1703 and simultaneously gained a reputation as a violinist of phenomenal ability, leading to his appointment as violin-master at the Ospedale della Pietà.

Performer Biography

Kevin Mallon, the Irish musician and conductor of the Aradia Ensemble, trained with notable figures like John Eliot Gardiner and Peter Maxwell Davies.

Composer Biography

Vivaldi composed around fifty operas and was also involved with the theatre as a director and manager.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Vivaldi's religious music combines passages of tenderness and sombre beauty with highly operatic movements of colorful and exciting virtuosity.

Composer Biography

Antonio Vivaldi, known as the 'red priest' due to his hair color, was the son of a barber who later became a violinist at the Basilica of St Mark in Venice.