On 12 July Gabrieli Consort & Players will celebrate 40 years of exceptional performances, ground-breaking programmes, and acclaimed recordings, with a performance of their iconic programme, A Venetian Coronation at Manchester Cathedral under the direction of Paul McCreesh.
A Venetian Coronation is a lavish musical re-creation of the Coronation Mass for the Venetian Doge Marino Grimani in 1595, with music by Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, evoking the grand pageantry of Venice at the height of the late Renaissance.
Gabrieli’s recording of A Venetian Coronation was one of the ensemble’s first great successes and remains one of its most iconic and popular programmes. It established the ensemble as a foremost interpreter of such music and, perhaps most importantly, as a pioneering ensemble whose innovative use of liturgy brought the repertoire to life. Following this album’s initial release in 1989, Gabrieli re-recorded this seminal programme for McCreesh’s own label, Winged Lion in 2012. Both recordings received a coveted Gramophone Award.
Paul McCreesh, Artistic Director of Gabrieli Consort & Players, said: ‘It has been many years since I graduated from Manchester University, so it is a real delight to be back in this wonderful city to celebrate the Gabrieli’s 40th anniversary. A Venetian Coronation deservedly remains as one of our most popular programmes. Doge Grimani’s love of ceremony and state pageantry fuelled an extraordinary artistic legacy and gave rise to the great musical riches of the period, especially the works of Giovanni Gabrieli. With organs, cornetts, sackbuts, trumpets, drums and an all-male vocal consort, this flamboyant programme has captivated audiences in cathedrals and concert halls throughout the world, and even in San Marco itself.’
The concert forms part of a UK tour that will also see concerts performed in London’s St John’s Smith Square and York Minster on 13 July 2022 as part of the York Early Music Festival. The performances are generously supported by the Continuo Foundation.
