Eva Cassidi

In the seventeenth century, the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice took in young orphan girls who received advanced musical instruction. The concerts given there attracted visitors from all over the world, curious to hear these divine voices which remained invisible, since the girls performed hidden behind the grilles of the chapel gallery. Vivaldi became Maestro de’ Concerti of the Pietà in 1714, and it was his pupils who performed his famous Nisi Dominus. Today they are succeeded by the mezzo-soprano Eva Zaïcik, who brings out the full poignancy of the aria ‘Cum dederit’. Another motet by Vivaldi, Invicti bellate, also composed for the Pietà, features in this programme planned and conducted by Vincent Dumestre. He invites us on a musical journey centred on the figure of woman and on divine praise, with composers awaiting discovery such as Serafino Razzi (1534-1619) and Soto de Langa (1531-1611).

“Full of fire, spirit and life.” is how Mozart described this work of his contemporary, presented here for the first time on this new 2CD set. Mozart’s positive verdict on Josef Myslivecek (1737-1781) was intended to make the listener aware, for the fact that the extremely critical Salzburg composer expresses himself positively about a colleague is an absolute exception. His oratorio Adamo & Eva, performed in Florence in 1771, was composed at precisely the time when contact with the Mozart family seemed to have been particularly close.

Released Saturday 16th October as part of National Album Day 2021. All pre orders will be made ready for collection on that date. Postal orders will be dispatched from Monday 18th October.