The year 2025 marks the 300th anniversary of the death of Alessandro Scarlatti.
The program proposed by the baroque specialists of Intende Voci Ensemble aims to introduce the audience to the key passages of the Vespers of the Blessed Virgin, a collection (probably assembled posthumously) of some of Scarlatti’s most musically significant sacred works composed during his Roman period.
Scarlatti was active in sacred repertoire throughout his entire career. He began as maestro di cappella in Rome: first at San Giacomo degli Incurabili (1678–1682), then at San Girolamo della Carità (1682–1683); later he served as vice-maestro at Santa Maria in Vallicella (1703–1705), and subsequently as assistant and maestro di cappella at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (1703–1709). During his long stays in Naples—from 1683 to 1702 and from 1709 until his death in 1725—he was engaged as head of the Royal Chapel, composing both sacred and secular music.
Regarding the sections of the Vespers performed on this occasion, there is no certain information about their exact year of composition. For all of them—and especially for the majestic concluding Magnificat for five voices and basso continuo—many scholars attribute the works to his Roman period (1703–1708).
The Scarlatti program is followed by two compositions by the contemporary composer Arvo Pärt. A bold choice, but only in appearance. Pärt, an Estonian composer, decided in the second part of his career to draw inspiration from the sonorities of Gregorian chant and early music, giving the voice a central role. His contemporary music thus evokes the sound world of earlier periods.
THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025 – Casalborgone (CN)
Antiqua 2025 – Accademia del Ricercare
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2025 – Milan
Novantica 2025 – Associazione Liederìadi
Vespro della Beata Vergine
Alessandro Scarlatti
Nunc Dimittis
The Deer’s Cry
Arvo Pärt
Giorgia Zanin, theorbo
Franz Silvestri, organ
Intende Voci Ensemble
Mirko Guadagnini, concertmaster
