Lotti Revealed: Tafelmusik Performs The Music Of Venetian Master For The First Time In November

Ivars Taurins directs Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir in Lotti Revealed, the inaugural choral concert of Tafelmusik's 2019/20 season, November 14 to 17, 2019 at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. The program marks Tafelmusik's first venture into the music of Italian baroque composer Antonio Lotti. The transcendent Missa Sapientiae (Mass of Wisdom) is paired with choral music by his admirers Bach, Handel, and Zelenka. In keeping with this season's theme of "Old meets New," music by European baroque composers is coupled with the world premiere of Kadosh/Sanctus/Holy by Canadian composer James Rolfe. For full program details, visit tafelmusik.org.

Antonio Lotti was an important baroque composer whose name has been all but lost in the march of musical history. The Venetian rose through the ranks at San Marco as a singer and organist before becoming maestro di cappella (Music Director). In addition to writing music for operas for the Venetian theatres, he composed sacred music for both San Marco and for the famous Ospedale della Pietà.

Taurins stumbled upon a recording of Lotti's Missa Sapientiae by chance. "I was immediately intrigued. I discovered that although little known today, this particular Mass was very influential in its time. It was not published, and yet among the numerous musicians who had written out copies of the score for their own use were Bach, Handel, and Zelenka - an impressive testament to Lotti's inventiveness," said Taurins.

The second half the program explores the idea of musical inspiration and influence, and includes settings of other Latin texts by Zelenka, Bach, and Handel - disciples of Lotti's work who borrowed or adapted musical ideas, and in some cases, entire passages from their influential predecessor.

For his Tafelmusik commission Kadosh/Sanctus/Holy, Toronto composer James Rolfe began with Lotti's Mass as a point of departure. "I was attracted to Lotti's Sanctus, which begins 'Holy, holy, holy.' Its text is taken from the Jewish Shabbat service, beginning "Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh"-a magical incantation. In my piece, the word is sung in Hebrew first (kadosh); then the Latin text is added next to it (sanctus), and finally the English (holy). Distinct languages and religions are placed next to each other, in harmony, united in praising the divine," said Rolfe.

James Rolfe has been commissioned and performed in Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand by soloists, ensembles, orchestras, choirs, theatres, and opera companies. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, the K. M. Hunter Music Award, a Chalmers Arts Fellowship, Choral Canada's Outstanding Choral Work Award, and the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music. His operas have been performed in Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, Banff, Edmonton, and New York. His opera The Overcoat was premiered by Tapestry Opera with Canadian Stage and Vancouver Opera in 2018 and was nominated for 10 Dora Awards. Two solo CDs (raW, 2011, and the JUNO-nominated Breathe, 2018) are available on Centrediscs. This is Rolfe's second commission for Tafelmusik.

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