Venezia - Painful and Jubilant

Description

The focus of the 2026 autumn concert is a mass and two sacred choral works by Venetian composers. The internationally renowned Capricornus Consort Basel accompanies the choir and complements the program with virtuosic Venetian instrumental music. Caldara and Vivaldi share their birthplace, Venice, but apart from that, they represent two quite different musical life paths of the Baroque era. Caldara (1670-1736) began his career as a cellist at San Marco and composed his first works at nearly 20, including a successful opera. After brief stints in Mantua and Rome, he moved to Vienna in 1706, where he became vice kapellmeister of the baroque court music under Emperor Charles VI – and a key figure in popularizing Italian Baroque music beyond the Alps. He lived in the imperial city until his death, writing over 70 operas, several oratorios, and numerous sacred works, which he performed himself with the famous court music ensemble. The only slightly younger Vivaldi (1678-) was initially a teacher and priest at the Venetian Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for girls, for which he composed many sacred works. Due to his red hair, he was also called the "Red Abbot." To achieve great fame, Vivaldi had to leave his hometown; he first found success in Milan and Rome as a composer and violin virtuoso. Unlike the emigrant Caldara, he returned to Venice in 1725 and further increased his fame with numerous successful operas performed at Teatro d’Angelo and later spread across Europe, as well as with instrumental music that remains popular to this day. Source: thurgaukultur.ch - the cultural portal for Thurgau, with dates, topics & people worth talking about.