Soloist (Penitenza)

Giovanni Legrenzi was one of the most important composers of the seventeenth century, being awarded the post of maestro di cappela at St. Mark’s in Venice, a post held by Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Rovetta, and Francesco Cavalli during the first half of the century.  La Morte del Cor penitente is one of three surviving oratorios by Legrenzi, composed around 1671 when he was the leading opera composer at Venice.  Musica Transalpina is proud to present the first known American performance of this obscure work to commemorate four centuries since the composer’s birth.