Christmas Concert: Salve Regina

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During the baroque period, the influence of Italian music throughout Europe was enormous, and there was a very clear connection between sacred music and opera. Both genres shared compositional techniques and styles, such as the use of arias and recitatives. The musical forms used in sacred music were often reflected in operas, with great attention to vocal expressiveness. The rich and varied instrumentation that characterized sacred works also transferred to opera and created a similar sonic atmosphere. Both sacred music and opera were part of social and cultural life, with concerts and performances held in churches and theaters, which facilitated the diffusion of musical ideas between the two genres.

The pieces selected for this concert make that relationship evident, with a focus on the work of two composers of different styles, but with an important mark on Venetian musical life, Antonio Vivaldi and Domènec Terradellas.

The Venetian Antonio Vivaldi was an exceptional virtuoso, he excelled in the creation of concertos for violin and other instruments, but he was also celebrated in the field of opera and sacred music. This concert presents the beautiful Salve Regina in F major, a work based on an antiphon dedicated to the Virgin Mary, designed to be performed during this liturgical period of Advent, just before the Christmas festival. The sensitivity of this piece will come through the voice of one of the most solid mezzo-sopranos in Spain, Marta Infante. And, from her extensive operatic vocal repertoire, she will perform arias from the operas Orlando furioso and Il Farnace, as well as the vibrant overture to Ottone in villa.

After completing his studies in Naples, Barcelonan Domènec Terradellas (1713-1751) embarked on a triumphant career that took him to Venice, where in 1744 he premiered the opera Artaserse, from which the overture will be performed. Additional pieces on the program by Terradellas include the arias "La beltà che t'innamora" and "Tecum principium in die virtutis."

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Christmas in Catalunya

Are you curious about Catalan holiday traditions? Head over to our page Christmas in Barcelona, and you'll learn about the famous Catalan "pooping log" and the caganer. If you're looking for something Christmassy to do, check out our list of events in and around the city at: What's on in Barcelona: Christmas.