Boston Choral Festival:
Monteverdi Vespers

Friday, October 25, 7:30 p.m.
Cyclorama, Boston

Boston Choral Festival:
Monteverdi Vespers

Friday, October 25, 2024 | 7:30 PM
Cyclorama, Boston

Claudio Monteverdi - Vespers of 1610
Noah Horn, Music Director

This event will be held at the iconic Cyclorama and encompass a full day of workshops for a select group of area high school choral programs. These ensembles will learn several of the choral movements of the Vespers, joining you all at the culminating concert that evening. We hope to create an experience unique in Boston, bringing together unlikely groups of people around a timeless piece of music we think will excite a lot of people. 

Claudio Monteverdi - Vespers of 1610
Noah Horn, Music Director

This event will be held at the iconic Cyclorama and encompass a full day of workshops for a select group of area high school choral programs. These ensembles will learn several of the choral movements of the Vespers, joining you all at the culminating concert that evening. We hope to create an experience unique in Boston, bringing together unlikely groups of people around a timeless piece of music we think will excite a lot of people. 

Claudio Monteverdi - Vespers of 1610
Noah Horn, Music Director

This event will be held at the iconic Cyclorama and encompass a full day of workshops for a select group of area high school choral programs. These ensembles will learn several of the choral movements of the Vespers, joining you all at the culminating concert that evening. We hope to create an experience unique in Boston, bringing together unlikely groups of people around a timeless piece of music we think will excite a lot of people. 

What’s Interesting About This Concert

  • A Groundbreaking Mix of Styles: This piece, formally titled "Vespro della Beata Vergine" (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin), is a landmark of early Baroque music because it blends multiple musical styles. It incorporates elements of both Renaissance polyphony and the newer, more dramatic Baroque techniques. This creates a rich and varied listening experience, moving from intimate moments to grand, celebratory choruses.

  • Lost and Found: Though well-known in his time, Monteverdi's Vespers wasn't widely performed for centuries after his death. The complete work wasn't even rediscovered until the 20th century! Today, it's recognized as a masterpiece and a cornerstone of Western music.

  • A Musical Spectacle: The Vespers is a large-scale work, scored for soloists, choirs, and a full orchestra. This allows for a wide range of expression, from the beauty of a single voice to the power of a combined chorus and instruments. It's a truly impressive musical spectacle.

  • About 95 minutes with one 10-minute intermission.

  • It's Boston, so this will be difficult.

  • The Cyclorama is housed within the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) in the South End neighborhood of Boston.expand_more You'll find it at 539 Tremont Street, a historic building known for its impressive copper dome.expand_more