Antonio Vivaldi was 24 years previous when, in September of 1703, he was first employed as maestro di violino at Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà.
Positioned close to the Piazza San Marco, the Ospedale della Pietà was a generously endowed orphanage for ladies, probably the most proficient of whom acquired an distinctive music training. Describing the calibre of the performances, French scholar Charles de Brosses wrote in 1739, “The women sing like angels, and play the violin, the flute, the organ, the oboe, the cello, the bassoon, briefly there is no such thing as a instrument giant sufficient to frighten them.” Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote,
Each Sunday within the church buildings of the 4 scuole, throughout Vespers, there are motets for a big refrain and orchestra. These are composed and performed by theleading Italian maestri and carried out from behind screened-off galleries by ladies, the oldest of whom is just not twenty years of age. I can consider nothing so delectable and touching as this music: the wealth of artistry, the beautiful style of the songs, the great thing about the alternatives, and the precision of efficiency…what pained me have been these cursed screens which let solely sounds escape and saved hidden from me the angelic beauties of which the sounds have been so worthy.
As with a lot of Vivaldi’s music, the Gloria, RV. 589 was written for the Ospedale della Pietà. Composed circa 1715, it’s one in every of at the very least three settings Vivaldi made from the textual content, taken from the Gospel of Luke. It’s scored for four-part choir, three feminine soloists (soprano and alto/contralto), oboe, trumpet, strings and continuo. For 200 years, the rating was forgotten, solely to be rediscovered within the Nineteen Twenties.
Set within the celebratory key of D main, and punctuated by triumphant oboe and trumpet fanfares, the opening motion (Gloria) is an angelic proclamation. Shifting to B minor and triple meter, the second motion (Et in terra pax) enters a world of thriller and awe. With sudden harmonic shifts, it ventures deep into shadowy, far-flung locations and searches for the way in which residence. The third motion (Laudamus te) is a joyful duet. The chorale-like Gratias agimus results in a fugue (Propter magnam gloriam) “effervescent, assured, even playful because the voices steal the topic from one another.” (Shulamit Hoffmann). The sixth motion (Domine Deus) is a solo soprano aria. It unfolds over the gently rocking rhythm of a barcarole as a musical dialog between the soprano and solo oboe. The Domine Fili erupts with the festive dotted rhythms of the French overture. The Domine Deus, Agnus Dei is a somber, introspective dialogue between contralto and antiphonal refrain. The tenth motion (Qui sedes) is a buoyant dance. Following a reprise of the opening music (Quoniam tu solus sanctus), the work concludes with the fugue, Cum sancto spiritu.
Within the Baroque interval, composers borrowed freely, a lot in the way in which jazz musicians adapt preexisting music. The closing fugue is an adaptation of music by Vivaldi’s up to date, Giovanni Maria Ruggieri.
Right here is John Eliot Gardiner’s recording with the English Baroque Soloists, the Monteverdi Choir, and soloists Lucy Ballard, Elinor Carter, and Margaret Cameron:
Right here is the whole textual content:
Refrain
Gloria in excelsis Deo;Refrain
Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.Sopranos 1 and a pair of
Laudamus te, benedicimus te,
adoramus te, glorificamus te.Refrain
Gratias agimus tibi
propter magnam gloriam tuam.Soprano 1
Domine Deus, rex coelestis,
Deus pater omnipotens;Refrain
Domine fili unigenite, Jesu Christe;Alto and refrain
Domine Deus, agnus Dei, filius patris,
Rex coelestis, Domine Fili unigenite,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis.Refrain
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
suscipe deprecationem nostram.Alto
Qui sedes advert dexteram patris,
miserere nobis.Refrain
Quoniam tu solus sanctus,
tu solus Dominus,
tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe.Refrain
Cum sancto spiritu,
in gloria Dei patris.
Amen.
English translation:
Glory to God on excessive;
And on earth peace, good will towards males.
We reward thee, we bless thee,
we worship thee, we glorify thee.We give due to thee
for thy nice glory.Lord God, heavenly king,
God the daddy almighty;Lord, the one begotten son, Jesus Christ;
Lord God, lamb of God, son of the daddy,
heavenly king, solely begotten son,
thou who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy upon us.Thou who takest away the sins of the world,
obtain our prayer.Thou who sittest on the proper hand of
the daddy, have mercy upon us.For thou alone artwork holy,
thou alone artwork the Lord,
thou alone are most excessive, Jesus Christ.With the holy spirit,
within the glory of God the daddy.
Amen.
5 Nice Recordings
- Vivaldi: Gloria, RV. 589, John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Lucy Ballard, Elinor Carter, Margaret Cameron Decca
- Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Sprituel (this 2015 recording takes some adventurous liberties with the rating. It omits the oboe and trumpet and contains solely feminine voices. The solo elements are carried out by the vocal ensemble.
- Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants
- Sir David Willcocks, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Academy of St Martin in the Fields
- Simon Preston, Emma Kirkby; Judith Nelson, Catherine Bott, Christ Church Cathedral Choir Oxford, Academy of Ancient Music
Featured Picture: St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice
