Splendor Barok Venetië
In the bustling Venice of the 17th century, music could be heard everywhere—in palaces, harbors, inns, and theaters. Composers such as Barbara Strozzi, Biagio Marini, Dario Castello, Giulio Caccini, Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, and Claudio Monteverdi drew inspiration from the cosmopolitan life of the city: echoes of Sicilian tambourines, Eastern melodies, and foreign visitors mingled with Venetian sophistication.
Barbara Strozzi was an exceptional figure in 17th-century Venice — a woman who published her own music at a time when composing was almost exclusively reserved for men. She moved freely in the city's intellectual and artistic salons, surrounded by poets, thinkers, and musicians, presenting her own work with unprecedented independence.
Her life was surrounded by rumors, satire, and prejudice: people whispered about her private relationships with influential men (but also, for example, an unknown Sicilian tambourine player), her independence, and the boldness with which she moved in artistic circles.
Nevertheless, Strozzi continued to compose, sing, and publish fearlessly—eight collections full of refined madrigals, arias, and cantatas—and she became a rare symbol of female creativity and courage in the Venetian Baroque.
Click here for the programme and texts.
Ai Horton - soprano
Mike Fentross - theorbo
Heleen Hulst - violin/viola
Sarah Jeffery - recorders
Peter Prommel - baroque percussion
