In baroque Venice, being a clergyman was no guarantee of good behaviour. Antonio Vivaldi – the so-called “Red Priest” – wasn’t the only firebrand in holy orders, and today Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima take a day-trip from Venice to celebrate the music of Pietro Gnocchi of Brescia– globetrotter, polymath, priest and composer of rarely-heard music that’s every bit as delicious as his name implies! Plus Vivaldi, too, of course – making a double bill of “mad monks” who never let their vocation get in the way of some serious musical fun. You’ll never hear their concertos played with more brilliance and flair.

Programme

Vivaldi – Concerto Conca in B♭

Vivaldi – Concerto VI in C, Il piacere, Op. 8

Pietro Gnocchi – Concerto V in G minor

Vivaldi – Concerto V in E flat, La Tempesta di Mare

Vivaldi – Concerto VII in D minor, Op. 8

Pietro Gnocchi – Concerto VI in B♭

Vivaldi – Concerto for 2 violins in E♭

Performers

La Serenissima

Adrian Chandler violin