Bruce Dickey, Hana Blažíková & Concerto Palatino - Ex tenebris ad lucem: Venetian Music of Penitence from a Time of Plague, 1575-1577 (2023) [Hi-Res]

In the years 1575-77, Venice was struck by a plague of unusual violence, killing a third of the population in just two years. To stave off the plague which the Venetians felt was caused by the wrath of God, they began already in 1575 with the construction of the beautiful Chiesa del Redentore. At the consecration of this church and at later ceremonies, music by the best composers linked to St Mark’s, such as Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, was performed. Some of these works can be heard on the present recording. Furthermore, the American composer Robert Kyr was commissioned to contribute a new work intended to create a musical and emotional link between the plague in the 16th as well as the pandemic in the 21st centuries: Vigil: Darkness into light, is a bridge from our days to the music of the Renaissance.

This evocative music is presented by the outstanding singers and instrumentalists of the ensemble Concerto Palatino, including Hana Blažíková, Alex Potter and Veronika Skuplik, under the direction of Bruce Dickey.