The Ashburton Singers…

Autumn 2015

Concert – Vivaldi Gloria

Joined by an instrumental consort of strings, oboe, trumpet and harpsichord, the Ashburton Singers perform the much loved Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi and Beatus Vir by Claudio Monteverdi together with music by other Baroque composers associated with the important Italian musical centres of Rome, Venice, Verona and Bologna. 

In the early seventeenth century, the new Italian musical style swept over Europe and Italian composers were prominent in the creation of opera, cantata, oratorio concerto and the sonata as musical genres. Composers developed new styles of instrumental playing, introduced elaborate ornamentation and expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance.

Most importantly however, this new Baroque style was the result of a search for a more direct emotional expression and a more immediate and moving musical experience. The chief characteristic of the Italian masters is their love of the voice and song and their attention to the vocal line, bringing out the natural beauty whether in instrument (particularly the violin) or the human voice. The result is heart winning music of emotional exuberance and drama.

    Manfredini   Concerto Per il Santissimi Natale
    Torelli            Concerto di Pastorale 
    Carissimi       Pulchra et decora
    Monteverdi  Cantate Domino
    Cavalli            Exultet Orbis
    Palestrina      Sicut Cervus
    Croce              Regina Coeli

Soloists:

Soprano Lynda Grieveson
Contralto Cheryl Stead

Leader: Sue Smallshire

Directed by Bridget Ansell

Where and When:

Saturday 28th November 2015 – St Luke’s Church, Buckfastleigh, Devon