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Sankt Annæ x Concerto Copenhagen

Author Sabrina

Published on: October 11, 2024

The voices of youth

Concerto Copenhagen and Sankt Annæ Pigekor present a musical experience where modern compositions are combined with Vivaldi's forgotten treasures from Venice.

Concerto Copenhagen and Sankt Annæ Pigekor have created a very special concert project where new music meets music from Baroque Italy. Together, the ensembles will go on tour in 2025, visiting Flensburg, Hannover, Cremona, Mantua, Venice and Copenhagen.

A new work inspired by history and today's youth

The tour includes the premiere of the newly written work Prik i historien, which is based on both the classical Catholic Mass and the sensual poetry of the Song of Songs. Prik i historien seeks to capture the beauty of young people's community and friendships - a core value for Sankt Annæ Pigekor, which performs the work. The texts, written by Mette Damm, poetically relate to the traditional mass texts (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo etc.) and bring contemporary stories to life in a new musical setting.

The music is inspired by Damm's lyrics and composed by Anne-Terese Sales and Christian Berg, who have processed and composed the material into a work that reflects the spirit of youth today.

Voices from the street

In 18th century Venice, there were four large Ospedali Grandi - a kind of hospice that cared for the needy, including orphaned girls. Here, selected female students were trained as professional singers and musicians, and these ensembles became famous far and wide for their high standards. The composer Vivaldi taught for many years at the Ospedale della Pietà, where MON had an ensemble of 60 singers and instrumentalists

The ensemble is the same size when Sankt Annæ Pigekor, students from the Conservatory and Concerto Copenhagen perform Vivaldi's masterpiece Gloria, which was originally written for the Venetian voices from the street. Now it can be heard in the company of the concert's world premiere Dot in History, taking the audience on a musical journey from past to present and from the street to the concert hall.

The musical training the young women received at Ospedali Grandi is often considered a precursor to the European conservatories of the 19th century. Professional development is also always a common thread in Sankt Annæ Pigekor's projects, which is why the collaboration with Concerto Copenhagen and the Royal Danish Academy of Music is important.