"Venetian Vespers:" a reconstruction of Vespers at St Marks in Venice as celebrated in the 1640s

By the 1560s the music of St. Mark’s in Venice had more impact on European sacred music than any other church music institution, a dominance it maintained well into the 17th Century. During this period, Vespers took on even more musical importance than the Mass, and music became the focal point of the entire service. Prayers and readings were whispered underneath the sound of the music, so that Vespers was really more like a concert than a church service. This program features works by two of St. Mark's most important composers of the time, Giovanni Rovetta and Giovanni Rigatti. Their music was meant to appeal to the heart much more than to the mind, and is astoundingly sensual and almost overwhelming in its beauty.