Juditha Triumphans

Description

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Juditha Triumphans devicta Holofernis barbarie RV 644 (Sacrum militare oratorio) Vivaldi's oratorio Juditha Triumphans is not only a musical military exercise (it is explicitly called "Sacrum militare oratorio") to celebrate the victory of the commander of the Venetian armies, Marshal Matthias von Schulenburg, over the Turks in Corfu in July 1716, but also an impressive display of great voices and instrumental possibilities from the Ospedale della Pietà. The orchestra offers an extraordinary richness of instruments, some of which are unusual even by Vivaldi's standards: Chalumeau, two clarinets, four theorboes, viola d'amore, and mandolin, among others, are called for.