It’s hard to imagine a more radiant work than Vivaldi’s Gloria, or one that brings more joy. Those who love his Four Seasons will undoubtedly fall for this masterpiece as well. With Le Concert Spirituel, Vivaldi becomes a truly delightful experience. BBC Music Magazine praised the incomparable expert Hervé Niquet, saying: “Niquet enhances the radiant beauty of the music with his lively tempi and rhythmic vitality.” Founded in 1987, Le Concert Spirituel is named after the famous 18th-century Concerts Spirituels, which set the musical standard of the time. The ensemble performs on authentic instruments (or copies) from the Baroque period, when the composer lived.
Gloria d’Ospedale is the official title of Vivaldi’s Gloria. The composer worked in an orphanage (ospedale) for girls in Venice, writing what the girls and nuns desired. This Gloria was likely performed solely by female voices. Hervé Niquet recreates how such a performance must have sounded in the chapel of the orphanage. Le Concert Spirituel and its conductor are also keen to dust off lesser-known works. Antonio Vivaldi is the perfect composer for that. Apart from his famous hits, he remains an artist we still don’t know enough about. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the other, shorter pieces on the program.
