Programme

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

Lamento d’Arianna

Il sesto libro de madrigali, 1614

Ori Harmelin (born 1981)

Variations for theorbo on La Monaca,

a popular melody from Renaissance Italy

Giulio Caccini (1550-1618)

Dolcissimo sospiro

Le nuove musiche, 1602

Claudio Monteverdi

Io mi son giovinetta

Il quarto libro de madrigali, 1603

Claudio Monteverdi

Troppo ben può questo tiranno Amor

Il quinto libro de madrigali, 1605

T’amo, mia vita

Il quinto libro de madrigali, 1605

Giovanna Baviera (born 1988)

Variations for Viola da gamba on Il ballo di Mantova, 

melody from Renaissance Italy

Marco da Gagliano (1582-1643)

Chi da lacci d’Amor

From the opera La Dafne, 1608

Claudio Monteverdi

Interrotte speranze

Concerto: Il settimo libro de madrigali, 1619

Claudio Monteverdi

Sestina - Lagrime d’amante al sepolcro dell’amata

Il sesto libro de madrigali, 1614

Performers

Sopranos: Christina Boner, Jessica Jans

Tenors: Andrés Montilla Acurero, Dan Dunkelblum

Baritone: Tobias Wicky

Bass: Sebastian Myrus

Viola da Gamba: Giovanna Baviera

Theorbo: Ori Harmelin

Programme Notes

Monteverdi’s Muse

A musical portrait of Caterina Martinelli (1589-1608)

Who were the singers that inspired the revolutionary music of Claudio Monteverdi? One of the most fascinating and mysterious of them was the young virtuoso, Caterina Martinelli.

At the mere age of thirteen, Caterina left her home city of Rome and came to Mantua to study with Monteverdi and live in his household. She quickly became an admired virtuoso and the favourite singer of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga. The title role in Monteverdi’s opera, L’Arianna, composed for the wedding of the Mantuan heir, was written with her in mind. Yet her moment of glory in opera history was not to be; Caterina became gravely ill and died shortly before the premiere, not even 19 years old. Her death caused havoc in the production and personal grief to Monteverdi. However, not everyone in court shared the grief; sources from the time hint that Caterina was a subject not only of admiration, but also of jealousy.

The programme follows the path of this unique young woman: from her early years and encounter with the music of Caccini and Monteverdi, to her great success in Marco da Gagliano’s opera La Dafne, and her preparations for L’Arianna. It concludes with the madrigal cycle known as La Sestina, Monteverdi’s heart-breaking musical eulogy to his protégé. Ensemble Voces Suaves presents a musical portrait of Caterina, who, despite her untimely death, lives on in the music which she inspired.

Biography

Voces Suaves - Ensemble

The Basel vocal ensemble Voces Suaves cultivates the historically informed performance of music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Founded in 2012, the ensemble consists of a core of eight professional singers, most of whom have a connection to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.  From 2014 to 2016, Voces Suaves was part of the European funding programme "eeemerging, Emerging European Ensembles Project".

The ensemble has performed at important festivals throughout Europe, including Festival d'Ambronay, the Ravenna Festival, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Festiwal Misteria Paschalia Krakow, the Berlin State Opera and the Innsbruck Early Music Festival.

Voces Suaves has cooperated with renowned instrumental ensembles such as the Ensemble Concerto Scirocco, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, il Pomo d’Oro and the Capricornus Consort Basel. Recordings by the ensemble have been released on the labels claves records, Ambronay éditions, Arcana (Outhere Music) and Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and have been awarded international prizes such as the Diapason d’Or and Choc de Classica.