Una stravaganza per Roma

This programme has at its heart the style know as the ‘colossal Baroque’ started by composers in Rome at the end of the 16th century. The thrilling 12-voice Missa Cantantibus organis Caecilia by Palestrina and his colleagues and pupils was probably written in the 1580s. Designed to impress, it is an opulent statement of the power concentrated in Rome and is set in context by Gregorian chant for the feast day of St Cecilia, patron saint of music. In the second half, Gregorio Allegri’s famous Miserere with its plangent top Cs is set against works by Viadana and Marenzio as well as some dramatic 12-part motets by Palestrina.

[The performance] hit me like a thunderclap – majestic polyphony that rolled in like a series of Atlantic breakers. The Times

Programme Includes

Sample Programmes

• Keeping the faith: Tallis, Byrd & 16th century England »
• Inheritance: Vaughan Williams & the Tudors »
• L’homme arme »
• The Tudors »