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In VenetiaSeventeenth century Venetians loved rich and sumptuous spectacle. Whether this be a public display or a more private affair did not seem to matter. To satisfy the expression of this opulence in musical terms, the printing presses of Gardano, Ravieri, Vincenti, Magni and others were kept busy producing a wealth of instrumental music. The music was designed to echo around the great golden domes of St.Mark's Basilica, and also throughout La Serenissima, in the churches, the palaces and the grand houses on the banks of the canals. By the turn of the seventeenth century, instrumental writing had developed into a highly sophisticated art form utilising the glorious spaces of Venetian architecture and the virtuosic abilities of the members of the basilicašs wind band (musicians such as Girolamo Dalla Casa and Giovanni Bassano). The marriage of virtuosity and outward extravagance led to some of the finest music written for the wind band and gives us a window to our seventeenth-century ancestors' musical tastes.  Programmes |