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Chamber Vespers: Miniature Masterpieces of the Italian Baroque / The Gonzaga Band

Drawing upon Italian printed sources from 1608–70, this project builds upon the concept of vocal and instrumental imitation and dialogue developed in Sacred Garland (2009). The programme is based on the form of a Marian Vespers (taking the printed order of Monteverdi’s 1610 collection as a model, in terms of alternating psalms with other ritual genres), but taking as its research focus some of the many smaller-scale compositions for just one or two voices or instruments – products of the economically straitened circumstances of many provincial churches in seventeenth-century Italy – which have tended to be neglected in favour of more spectacular (and commercially appealing) ‘set-piece’ scenarios exemplified by St Mark’s, Venice.

The title page of Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers suggests that some of its sacred concertos are suitable for performance in the ‘chambers of princes’; Chamber Vespers investigates the implications of this in terms of both intimacy of scale and secularity of context. It does not attempt an historical reconstruction (these pieces are unlikely to have been performed together on any one occasion), but investigates ‘chamber’ as an under-exploited typology – one which affords a range of expressive possibilities, not least in exploring individual composers’ treatment of the Vespers texts. Many of the pieces are premiere recordings (as indicated in the liner notes), making this project an important reference point. Preparation of performing scores entailed editorial intervention at various levels, by way of supplying plainsong verses and incipits, substituting voices for instruments, allocating accompaniment roles between continuo instruments, and the addition of ornamentation. This project demonstrates originality of concept, and rigour both in terms of the programme design and in historically informed performance practice. Savan’s contributions comprised: programme curation (including primary source research and preparation of performing materials); ensemble direction; arbitration of performance practice decisions.