Listen & tracks
3 of 22 tracks have a preview · 5 works · 56:05
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Ecce nuncAgata della Pietà 6 movements15:41
- 1 Ecce nunc 3:04
- 2 Qui statis in domo Domini 2:34
- 3 In noctibus 3:50
- 4 Benedicat te :43
- 5 Gloria Patri 2:33
- 6 Sicut erat in principio 2:57
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7 Tu es Petrus Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina 6:35
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Missa Aeterna Christi muneraGiovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina 7 movements17:59
- 8 Kyrie 2:04
- 9 Gloria 2:47
- 10 Credo 4:49
- 11 Sanctus 1:42
- 12 Benedictus 2:06
- 13 Agnus Dei I 1:54
- 14 Agnus Dei II 2:37
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15 Miserere Gregorio Allegri 12:12
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16 Christus resurgens Gregorio Allegri 3:38
The programme opens with the first recording of Agata della Pietà’s cantata Ecce nunc, a setting of Psalm 134 reconstructed by Elizabeth Anderson from incomplete Venetian manuscript parts. Directed by Douglas Lawrence, the Australian Chamber Choir pairs this rediscovered Venetian work with Palestrina’s Tu es Petrus and Missa Aeterna Christi munera, and Allegri’s Miserere and Christus resurgens.
In the artist’s words
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that female orphans in eighteenth-century Venice were given an excellent education in music. At the Ospedale della Pietà, Antonio Vivaldi directed the first all-women’s orchestra, which became famous throughout Europe for the high quality of its performances. I first learned about this during a high school music appreciation class. My imagination was ignited, and my mind immediately left the class, as I pondered the idea that there might be compositions by the orphans of the Pietà to be rediscovered.
Some four decades later, when Douglas Lawrence and I decided on a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria for the ACC’s 2022 season, my curiosity was reignited. Browsing search engines, I found a cluster of Italian-language articles about music education in Venetian orphanages, which revealed the names of three orphan composers of the Pietà – Agata, Michielina and Santa.
My search narrowed to the Benedetto Marcello Library in Venice: I’m grateful to Consultant Librarian, Silvia Urbani, who provided advice, and furnished me with copies of an incomplete set of manuscript parts. You can imagine my excitement when, the day after requesting the manuscripts for Agata’s cantata, the set of yellowed images arrived in my inbox. The set consisted of a complete first violin part and a complete cello part, as well as choir parts for alto and bass voice. The choir parts were for three of the six movements, with the remaining three movements marked tacet. The three movements in which the choral singers were silent must be solo arias.
I decided to key in the available material for the opening movement for choir and orchestra to create a skeletal full score, from which we could assess the composition and calculate how much work would be involved in a possible reconstruction. After an hour’s work, it was clear that we were dealing with an exciting piece of choral and orchestral writing similar in style to the music of Vivaldi. At this point, Douglas and I knew that we had struck gold!
I’m grateful to our son, Jacob Lawrence, (who recently completed a Master’s degree specialising in early music at the Schola Cantorum in Basel) for his assistance in reviewing the drafts of my reconstruction.
It is a privilege to ensure that Agata, after some 300 years of silence, can receive the recognition that she deserves.
Reviews
A small Venetian jewel shines again after 300 years. Back in 2021, Melbourne harpsichordist, singer and musicological sleuth Elizabeth Anderson brought to light the work of a physically disabled orphan named Agata. Born without the fingers of her left hand, Agata resided in Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, made famous by the presence of the “red priest” Antonio Vivaldi. Sympathetically reconstructed by Anderson, Agata’s cantata Ecce nunc, a setting of Psalm 134, is a graciously lyrical six-movement work that probably would have been sung at Compline, the last monastic service of the day. After touring the work through Victoria and then to Venice itself, the Australian Chamber Choir has now given this charming work a worthy first recording after three centuries of obscurity. Directed by Douglas Lawrence, the ACC and a small string ensemble endow the score with focussed intimacy, further enhanced by agile soprano and alto soloists drawn from the choir’s ranks. After this revelatory Venetian experience, come concert recordings of works by celebrated Roman composers, Palestrina and Allegri. Both Palestrina’s Missa Aeterna Christi munera and Tu es Petrus benefit from clarity of ensemble and diction, qualities also present in Allegri’s Miserere, presented in the version popularised last century with a succession of glorious high Cs sung by Elspeth Bawden. A splendid Easter motet for double choir, Christus resurgens is sung with abundant verve, reflecting the joy of the resurrection and thus allowing this disc to begin and end with uplifting choral discoveries.
The Australian Chamber Choir has revealed a composer who combined technical rigour with expressive warmth.
Artists
Australian Chamber Choir
choir
The Australian Chamber Choir was founded by Douglas Lawrence in July 2007.
Douglas Lawrence
director
Melbourne organist Douglas Lawrence is Director of Music at The Scots' Church and Teacher of the Organ at the University of Melbourne. He founded the Choir of Ormond College and directed it from 1982 to 2006.
Elizabeth Anderson
composer
Elizabeth Anderson has performed on eleven international concert tours to Europe, Japan and Singapore, and is a regular guest lecturer and performer at universities and music schools throughout Australia.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
composer
Palestrina's sacred polyphony balances proportion and serenity with crystalline text. His masses and motets move in smooth, carefully controlled lines where dissonance yields to consonance and every voice serves the liturgy.
Gregorio Allegri
composer
Gregorio Allegri (c. 1582–1652) was an Italian Catholic priest and composer of the Roman School. He is best known for his Miserere, a setting of Psalm 51 written for the Sistine Chapel.
Agata della Pietà
composer
Italian composer Agata (1712-1769) whose surname is unknown, is identified in the records simply by her first name Agata (Italian spelling of Agatha), or as Agata Cantora (cantora means ‘singer’). She arrived at the Pietà in 1712, most likely given up by her parents because of her apparent disability. Agata soon shone as a star student.
Digital booklet
Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDFPerformers
- Australian Chamber Choir · choir
- Douglas Lawrence · director
Technical credits
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Recording Engineer
Martin Wright
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Editing Engineer
Vaughan McAlley
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Mastering Engineer
Martin Wright
Details
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 56 minutes 5 seconds
- Release date
- 1 May 2024
- Category
- Choral
- Genres
- Choral & Sacred, Early Music
- Musical work copyright
- © 2024 Australian Chamber Choir
- Sound recording copyright
- ℗ 2024 Move Records
- Catalogue
- MCD 659
- EAN
- 9314574065923
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