La Serenissima: Music and Arts from the Venetian Republic is sponsored by Chubb.
The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism has granted La Serenissima: Music and Arts from the Venetian Republic its official support (“Patrocinio”) in recognition of Carnegie Hall’s celebration of Italy’s extraordinarily rich cultural legacy.
Carnegie Hall gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Tourism in Rome; the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC; and the Consulate General of Italy in New York.
Venice saw its largest territorial expansion in the 15th century, and it was just as this process was beginning to wane that the city became a leading center for culture and arts. The government of La Serenissima achieved a remarkable degree of social peace, and—thanks to its atmosphere of tolerance—the Republic attracted a large number of printers, including music publishers, who fostered the development of autonomous forms of artistic thought. In the case of music, this process found fertile soil at St. Mark’s Basilica: Built and rebuilt in what could be considered a Latinization of the Byzantine style, with its cruciform ground plan based on the Greek cross covered with cupolas, it became an ideal place for musical experimentation and the epicenter of what became known as the Venetian School, founded by Flemish composer Adrian Willaert. A certain decline in the city of Rome following its sack in 1527 also contributed to the emergence of Venice as an artistic powerhouse, a position that was to last until the 18th century.
At the same time, the 16th century gave rise to a new awareness of instrumental music; until that time, purely instrumental music had been either dance music or a (re)interpretation of the vocal repertory. For the first time, large quantities of music were composed to be played rather than to be sung.
These developments led to the invention of numerous new instruments: plucked and bowed strings, as well as brass and woodwinds. The influence of vocal polyphony, however, was formidable and shaped the early stages of instrumental music in at least two ways. First of all, many of the new instruments were conceived and built in a range of sizes and tunings, which allowed polyphonic compositions to be performed using ensembles of instruments with a homeogeneous timbre, thus imitating vocal choirs. The most prolific case of such consort music was written for the viola da gamba.
Second—although chronologically first—vocal music genres provided the starting point for new musical genres even when they were conceived as instrumental from the very beginning. Dance music, however, was an exception. It was widespread practice to perform pairs of dances in which a slow, binary dance was followed by a quick dance in ternary form, thus laying the foundations for the suite.
The composers of this newly invented instrumental music faced the challenge of composing in the absence of a text, which had provided the formal structure of vocal music. The terms ricercare, fantasia, capriccio, and canzona, among others, were used—often interchangeably—to refer to musical genres with a contrapuntal and frequently imitative texture, reminiscent of the vocal music that served as their model. In other cases, a low-pitched melody known as a “ground bass” provided a guiding thread for improvisation and variations, a modus operandi that furnished instrumental compositions with the necessary structure and the dimensions required.
Most of the composers featured in this concert have links with the city of Venice. Parabosco studied in the city under Willaert. Andrea Gabrieli, Giovanni Battista Grillo, Gioseffo Guami, Biagio Marini, and Giovanni Legrenzi worked at St. Mark’s. The others offer interesting examples of how this style became influential in other contexts.
—Josep Maria Vilar
(Translation by Jacqueline Minett)
For more than 50 years, Jordi Savall-one of the most versatile musical personalities of
his generation-has rescued musical gems from the obscurity of neglect and oblivion and
given them back for all to enjoy. A tireless researcher of early music, he interprets and
performs the repertory both as a gambist and as a conductor. His activities as a concert
performer, teacher, researcher, and creator of new musical and cultural projects have made
him a leading figure in the revival of historical music. Together with his wife Montserrat
Figueras (1942-2011), he founded the ensembles Hespèrion XXI (1974), La Capella Reial de
Catalunya (1987), and Le Concert des Nations (1989). Across all ensembles, he explores and
creates a world of emotion and beauty shared with millions of early music enthusiasts
around the world.
Mr. Savall has recorded and released more than 230 albums covering the Medieval,
Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical styles, while giving special focus to the Iberian and
Mediterranean musical heritage. His work has merited many distinctions, including the Midem
Classical Award, International Classical Music Award, and multiple Grammy Awards. His
concert programs use music as a form of mediation to achieve understanding and peace
between different--and sometimes conflicting--peoples and cultures. Accordingly, guest
artists appearing with his ensembles include Arab, Israeli, Turkish, Greek, Armenian,
Afghan, Mexican, and Native American musicians. In 2008, Mr. Savall was appointed European
Union Ambassador for intercultural dialogue and, together with Ms. Figueras, was named an
Artist for Peace as part of the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador program.
Jordi Savall's prolific musical career has brought him the highest national and
international distinctions, including honorary doctorates from universities in Évora
(Portugal), Barcelona (Catalonia), Louvain (Belgium), and Basel (Switzerland), the title of
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (France), the Praetorius Music Prize awarded by the
Ministry of Culture and Science of Lower Saxony, the Gold Medal of the Generalitat of
Catalonia, and the prestigious Léonie Sonning Music Prize.
Early music's most important value stems from its ability, as a universal language, to
transmit feelings, emotions, and ancestral ideas that can enthrall the contemporary
listener even today. With a repertoire that encompasses the period between the 10th and
18th centuries, Hespèrion XXI searches continuously for new points of union
between the East and West, with a clear desire for integration and for the recovery of an
international musical heritage, especially that of the Mediterranean basin and its links to
the New World.
In 1974, Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras, together with Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson
Smith, founded the early music ensemble Hespèrion XX in Basel to help recover and
disseminate the rich and fascinating musical repertoire that originated prior to the 19th
century. The name Hespèrion means "an inhabitant of Hesperia," which in ancient Greek
referred to the two most westerly peninsulas in Europe: the Iberian and the Italian. It
also was the name given to the planet Venus as it appeared in the west. At the turn of the
21st century, Hespèrion XX became Hespèrion XXI.
Today, Hespèrion XXI is a central ensemble for the understanding and performance of
the music from the Middle Ages to the Baroque. Its efforts to recover works, scores,
instruments, and unpublished documents have double value. On one hand, its rigorous
research provides new information and understanding about the historical knowledge of the
period, and on the other hand, the exquisite performances enable people to freely enjoy the
aesthetic and spiritual delicacy of the works of this period.
Right from the beginning, the members of Hespèrion XXI set out on a clearly innovative and
artistic course that would lead to the establishment of a unique school of thought in
the field of early music because they believed--and continue to believe--that early music
is an experimental musical tool. With it, they seek the maximum beauty and expressiveness
in their performances. All musicians in the field of ancient music have a commitment to the
original spirit of each work, connecting with it by studying the composer, the instruments
of the period, the work itself, and the circumstances surrounding it. But as craftsmen in
the art of musical performance, musicians are also obliged to make decisions about the
piece being played: Their capacity to connect the past with the present and to connect
culture with its dissemination depends on skill, creativity, and facility for transmitting
emotions.
Thanks to the outstanding work of numerous musicians and collaborators who have worked
with the ensemble, Hespèrion XXI continues to play a key role in the recovery and
reappraisal of early music. The group has released more than 60 recordings and appears
regularly at acclaimed international festivals.
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