La Suave Melodia

A. Corelli, A. Vivaldi, M. Uccellini, S. Rossi, B. Storace

Tuesday 13 July 2004, 8.30 pm
Nostic Palace, Courtyard, Maltézské nám. 1, Praha 1

Oman Consort (Austria)
Michael Oman – artistic director

Italy of the 17^th and 18^th centuries was an inexhaustible treasury of musical styles and repertoire, influencing musical development in various other parts of Europe. Even the Czech Lands, which lacked their own musical centre at the time, had connections to Italy through Vienna, some noblemen and church orders. Many aristocrats showed interest in Italian musical novelties and they were in contact for example with the Italians employed at the emperor’s court, or they invited Italian musicians for short-term visits to Bohemia (e.g. Tartini, Tessarini, Albrici, Lotti and Vivaldi). The concert programme called La Suave Melodia was composed of works by famous as well as less-known Italian artists of the 17^th through to 18^th centuries and offered a representative sample of Italian vocal and instrumental repertoire. At the same time, the presented authors and compositions acquainted the audience with music culture in all important Italian musical centres of those times: Vivaldi and Venice, Corelli, Kapsberger and Rome, Rossi, Cazzati and Scarani in Mantua, Falconieri and Ortiz in Naples, Storace Messina and Ucellini in Parma.