monteverdi, concert, pinchgut opera, spiritual forest, baroque, baroque opera, opera events, opera australia, sydney events
The Spiritual Forest is drawn from Monteverdi’s Selva morale e spirituale (1641), his great anthology of liturgical works composed during his career in Venice. It was to be the last collection of Monteverdi’s music published in his lifetime, and represents the final flowering of his great genius. These uniquely inspired works confirmed Monteverdi as the leading composer of his generation, exemplifying his consummate compositional prowess and his ability to put into music the deepest of human emotions.
The Spiritual Forest program focuses on the Latin works of Selva morale e spirituale. These are the apotheosis of the Venetian concertino style, in which instruments and voices blend together in artful ways, creating unique sonic and textural possibilities. It’s the same glorious sound world our audiences first heard in our critically acclaimed Vespers concerts last year: sublime music of magnificence, pathos and rhythmic vitality.
Australia’s premier Baroque vocal ensemble, Cantillation, will include the inaugural Taryn Fiebig Scholar, Chloe Lankshear, and The Humanity Foundation Taryn Fiebig Scholar Louis Hurley, along with Pinchgut audience favourites Amy Moore, Anna Fraser, Andrew O’Connor and David Greco. Joining them will be some of Australia’s finest specialist players of the Orchestra of the Antipodes, led by Erin Helyard to deliver a glorious and meditative sonic experience.
Pinchgut Opera's pre-concert podcast hosted by Genevieve Lang with very special guest, Pinchgut Opera's Artistic Director, Erin Helyard.
The Spiritual Forest by Monteverdi is a concert featuring some of the most sublime sacred music ever written, taken from Claudio Monteverdi's magnum opus of 1641, Selva morale e spirituale. Genevieve and Erin explore the history and musicology of the work, delving deep into early music that Monteverdi not only composed, but also helped pioneer.
The Spiritual Forest program will be available at City Recital Hall before the performance free-of-charge. The program is also available to view online and download below.
The Spiritual Forest will not be surtitled.
Since our selections from Selva morale e spirituale were based on musical, rather than liturgical, reasons, and contain repetition of parts of the liturgy, we have chosen to provide, on this occasion, translations of the sung texts for your perusal, either before or after the concert, at buttons below.
Pinchgut Opera's Artistic Director Erin Helyard made a playlist of past recordings of Selva morale e spirituale by Monteverdi to help prepare you for Pinchgut’s performance of these sublime works. Listen and enjoy.
The Spiritual Forest by Claudio Monteverdi
City Recital Hall, Sydney
Sat 2 Apr 2pm | Sun 3 Apr 5pm
Melbourne Recital Centre
Tue 5 Apr 7pm
Sung in Latin
(1567 - 1643)
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi was born in Cremona in 1567. He was the son of a doctor and the eldest of five children. Not much is known about his youth. Claudio and his brother studied music with a Marc Antonio Ingegneri who was the cathedral composer, though there is no evidence that either sang in the choir.
Monteverdi was a prodigy, publishing his first work, Cantiunculae sacrae, a volume of sacred songs, as a 15 year-old. His second book was published the following year and in 1584 his third book was published by the Venetian house which would become his main publisher, Vincenti & Amadino. Three years later, aged 19, he published his First Book of Madrigals.
© COPYRIGHT 2002 - 2024 PINCHGUT OPERA LTD | Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Website with MOBLE