Chorale
Great Barrington, MA: Saint James Place: Princes of Light and Darkness, Motets and Madrigals by Monteverdi and Gesualdo. Monteverdi, the child of an apothecary, was born in Cremona, Italy in the mid-1500’s. One of the most famous composers of his time, he wrote music that bridged the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Observes Artistic Director Christine Gevert, “Though best known for his contributions to opera and sacred music, Monteverdi wrote successfully in every vocal genre. The motets and madrigals selected for this program show him at his best, creating music that evokes playful, silly, sad, joyful, even rapturous feelings.” Monteverdi led a long, busy and successful life as a composer, and toward the end of his life held the post of maestro di cappella at San Marco in Venice. Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, was born a year before Monteverdi to a noble family in southern Italy. Ms. Gevert notes that, “Gesualdo’s vocal music is some of the most experimental and expressive of his time.” He is renowned for his intensely dramatic madrigals and sacred music that used a chromatic language not heard again for three centuries. Gesualdo was a brilliant musician whose troubled mind often expressed itself in his work. Artistic Director Christine Gevert (organ) and Hideki Yamaya (theorbo) will accompany the singers. Christine Gevert conducts. 6 pm.
860-435-4866 www.worldclassmusic.org→
