Annibale Padovano, an organist at the Basilica of St. Mark, worked closely with Adriaen Willaert and played a prominent role in the development of instrumental music.
Composition History
This recording reconstructs a Venetian Vespers service dedicated to the Virgin Mary, inspired by a tradition initiated by Adriaen Willaert, the composer featured on this album.
Historical Context
In Willaert's Venice, the performance of polychoral Vespers psalms was reserved for significant moments in the liturgical calendar, often in the Basilica of St. Mark, the Doge's private chapel.
Compositional Technique
Adriaen Willaert, a composer from the 16th century, integrated polychoral techniques into his Vespers psalms, a practice common in Northern Italian cities like Treviso, Padua, and Bergamo.
Composition History
Willaert's monumental volume Musica Nova (1559), containing motets and madrigals, is considered his magnum opus, though many pieces were composed earlier and initially accessible only to a small circle of connoisseurs.
Compositional Technique
The works on this album include collaborations between Adriaen Willaert and French composer Jachet de Mantua, where Jachet composed the first chorus and Willaert the second.
Interpretation
This recording respects the 16th-century tradition where the organ was used for instrumental works but did not accompany the choirs, who most likely sang a cappella.
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