Vertigo, Vêpres Imaginaires

Vertigo, vêpres imaginairesMonteverdi, Praetorius, Schütz At the turn of the XVII? century, German composers all sought to return to the Italian source.

Venice, its sonic architectures and spatial daring, the cori spezzati and the triumph of polychoral writing radiated as far as Lutheran lands. But the Thirty Years' War shattered this momentum.

Their expression became more intimate: these are the kleine geistliche Konzerte, heirs of the Italian motets for solo voice and continuo.

Built as a grand office of ecumenical Lutheran vespers, this programme brings together the great German and Italian masters: Praetorius, Schütz, Scheidt, Monteverdi and Cavalli answer one another in a play of echoes and alternations, where polychoral writing becomes jubilation, vital overflow and sensual outpouring – a celebration of a fusion that shaped European music.