Il Concerto Segreto

Programme:
Madrigals by Luzzasco Luzzaschi as well as music by Luca Marenzio, Claudio Monteverdi and Francesca Caccini

Under the reign of the d’Este family, the north Italian city of Ferrara enjoyed a golden age of art, literature and architecture during the Renaissance. Duke Alfonso II, a great lover of music, hosted a »concerto segreto« at his court in the late 16th century. It involved a secret trio of female singers, who quickly became famed for the beauty of their voices and their remarkable virtuosity. The concerts could only be attended at the personal invitation of the duke, who ensured the sheet music did not leave his court at Ferrara. The only music that can be attributed to the trio with any degree of certainty is a series of madrigals from 1601 by court composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi. As they provide detailed written-out elaborate ornamentation, the three highly accomplished singers of La Néréide are able to breathe new life into them in an authentic reconstruction accompanied by harpsichord, viol, harp and lute – a true discovery in the intimate surroundings of the Old Church in Rhede, which evokes the music original setting.

La Néréide vocal ensemble

in cooperation with Landkreis Emsland and the Emsländische Sparkassenstiftung