April 2018
On Sunday, April 29 2018 at 7.45pm in St Machar’s Cathedral, Aberdeen Bach Choir presented Lo Sposalizio, a concert to celebrate the centuries-old tradition of Venice’s annual carnival and ceremonial Marriage to the Sea.
The concert featured sacred, secular and instrumental music by Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Rovetta, and contemporaries, as the choir presented a musical reconstruction of this event as it might have sounded in the 1630s. The choir was accompanied by the specialist period instrument group, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, and continuo was provided by David Gerrard on harpsichord and organ and James Bramley on theorbo, both of whom played solo pieces. There were ancient Venetian cornett fanfares, plainsong, and multi-part choral music from one of the richest genres of choral music and one of the most exhilarating periods of musical history.
To give you a flavour of what you heard or would have heard if you missed the concert, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts appear on this promotional video for the Dunedin Consort's recording of the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610. John Butt, who narrates the video and directed the Dunedin Consort in the recording, is one of our Patrons.