Claudio Monteverdi died 350 years ago in Venice after a distinguished career as maestro at St
Mark's, and before that as musician and composer to the Gonzaga court in Mantua. In celebration of Monteverdi and his contemporaries,
Anthony Burton introduces a series of concerts from all over Europe which are being given today.
1.05 France
Strong musical connections existed between'France and Italy during Monteverdi's lifetime. The Fitzwilliam
Ensemble contribute to the 17th-century debate about the relative merits of French and Italian styles with music by Du Mont and Louis Couperin as well as the Italians Frescobaldi, Fontana, Falconieri and Tarquinio Merula.
2.00 Italy
Concerto Italiano, directed by Rinaldo Alessandrini , present madrigals by Monteverdi, including the famous Lqmento d'Arianna, which brought him so much early renown.
3.00 Belgium
The southern Netherlands were a great centre of music printing during Monteverdi's lifetime.
Sonatas by Nicholas a Kempis and motets by Peter Philips , an English Catholic refugee active in the Low Countries, are performed by the More Maiorum Ensemble.
4.00 Denmark
In the early Baroque period, a number of Danish composers visited Venice to study, among them
Mogens Pederson , whose madrigals and mass are performed by the Danish Radio Chorus, conductor Jesper Grove Jorgensen , along with a recently discovered collection of motets composed for the court of Frederik II.
5.00 Poland
Italian, and particularly
Roman, composers were encouraged to visit Poland during the Renaissance period. The Bornus Consort and the Ensemble II Tempo perform motets by Mikolaj Zielenski and Bartolomiej Pekiel and instrumental music by Adam Jarzebski.
6.00 Anthony Burton reviews the progress of Monteverdi Day with lain Fenion of King's College, Cambridge.
6.05 Netherlands
During Monteverdi's lifetime, the Old Church in Amsterdam boasted as its organist one of the most important musicians of the 17th century:
Jan Pleterzsoon Sweelinck.
Bernard Winsemius (organ) and Siebe Henstra
(harpsichord) perform a selection of secular and sacred organ music.
7.00 England
In the last few months a connection has been established between
Monteverdi and the ducal court chapel in Mantua.
Paul McCreesh directs the Gabrieli Consort in a concert surveying the sacred music heard by the Gonzaga court, ending with the vocal Magnificat of 1610. Music by Glaches de Wert, Girolamo Cavazzoni ,
Palestrina and the Duke of Mantua, Guglielmo Gonzaga.
8.00 Spain
While composers in Italy were abandoning the Renaissance idioms,
Spanish church music remained firmly conservative. Tomas Luis de Victoria returned from
Rome early in the 17th century and composed his Requiem for a member of the Spanish royal house. Pro Cantione Antiqua Ensemble Alfonso X El
Sabio, directors
Bruno Turner and Luis Lonzano
9.00 Italy
Monteverdi's Vespers music of 1610 combines modern use of virtuoso instruments and voices with the traditional chants of the church. It is performed by Soloists Alsfeld Vocal Ensemble
Musica Ficta Cologne, conductor Wolfgang Helbich
11.00 Monteverdi: Past and Future
Fifty years ago, little of Monteverdi's music was known, and now the nations of Europe have united to celebrate his achievement.
Anthony Burton is joined by Tim Carter , Jane Glover ,
Denis Stevens and Andrew
Parrott to discuss how far we have come in our understanding of his music.