Mirror of the senses
Solos and duets from 17th century italy
4 december kl 19.00
“The baroque can be found in every place and time. It is an aesthetic sin, but also a human
one—universal and perpetual like all human sins, if nothing more than an ever-present danger.”
The 1600’s stand out in the history of science, thought, and the arts as a revolutionary century. Born from technological inventions, scientific discoveries, and profound social transformations, the spirit of novelty that defined the seventeenth century found expression in countless philosophical, literary, and artistic forms—each marked by an imagination, and a world, in constant expansion.
In musical terms, the Italian Seicento (17th century) witnessed the invention of new languages, forms, and even instruments. A new code of expression, deeply rooted in the individuality of body and voice, took hold with radical force. Both sacred and secular music became stages for the dramatization of human passions, marking the dawn of a new era in the history of emotions. Opera—initially an entertainment for the courts and later a commercial enterprise—is undoubtedly the most universal and enduring of these creations. Baroque music, whether vocal or instrumental, moves the soul through the awakening of the senses. Within this new sensory ethos, the boundaries between sacred and secular, learned and popular, often blur. In the universality of the Baroque gesture, one senses the unbounded vitality of human desire—a daring quest for freedom not without its perils and temptations.
Our concert program presents a selection of vocal and instrumental works carefully chosen to reflect the restless, curious, and provocative spirit of the Italian Seicento. Alongside renowned composers such as Claudio Monteverdi, we also feature lesser-known figures who, each from a different perspective, explore the topic of the senses, revealing the universality of the Italian Baroque as a theater of passions and a mirror of the soul.
“Our concert program presents a selection of vocal and instrumental works [...] each from a different perspective, explore the topic of the senses, revealing the universality of the Italian Baroque as a theater of passions and a mirror of the soul.”
December concert
Mirror of the Senses - Solos and duets from 17th century Italy
Location
Drottningholm Royal Chapel
Date
4 December
Time
19.00
Duration
Approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes
Ensemble
Andrés Locatelli, musical leader and recorder
Jiayu Jin, soprano
Marco Saccardin, baritone and lute
Elin Gabrielsson, Rebecka Karlsson, violin
Mime Brinkmann, cello and viola da gamba
Julio Caballero Pérez, cembalo and organ
Leon Serafin, teorb and guitar