Summer Concerts Feature Celebrated Early Music Works by Monteverdi
Called "Il Divino" (the divine), the seventeenth-century Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi is the author of the monumental collection of sacred music Vespro della Beata Vergine, published in 1610. Two dozen singers with the Chorworks early music program present celebrated works by Monteverdi and his contemporaries at two free concerts and a worship service this summer as well as four weekday events.
Sacred Concertos and Motets
Friday, June 19, at 7:00 p.m. in Goodson Chapel in Duke Divinity School
Music by Monteverdi and his Circle that showcases smaller-scale works for voices and continuo
Venetian Vespers Music
Saturday, June 20, at 8:00 p.m. in Duke Chapel —livestream available here
Larger-scale works with soloists and period instruments, in the format of the traditional Vespers evening prayer service, with psalm settings by Monteverdi interspersed with other motets and antiphons, concluding with an eight-part setting of the Magnificat by the Baroque composer Giacomo Carissimi
Sunday Morning Worship Service
Sunday, June 21, at 11:00 a.m. in Duke Chapel — livestream available here
The Chorworks ensemble leads the music for this service, which offers stirring preaching, inspiring sacred music, and faithful prayer
Weekday Events
Tuesday, June 16, at 4:00 p.m. in Goodson Chapel
Monteverdi the Marvellous—An interactive conversation with Chorworks faculty
Wednesday, June 17, at 1:20 p.m. in Goodson Chapel
Chorworks Faculty Artists in Concert—featuring Clara Rottsolk, soprano; Andrew Bearden Brown, tenor; Daniel Swenberg, theorbo; Katherine Johnson, organ; and Philip Cave, director
Wednesday, June 17, at 4:00 p.m. in Goodson Chapel
Same Notes, New Songs: Monteverdi's Contrafacta—presented by Professor Roseen Giles
Thursday, June 17, at 4:00 p.m. in Goodson Chapel
Keeping Time with Monteverdi: Tempo and Proportion—presented by Professor Tim Carter
Directed by the Chapel's conductor-in-residence Dr. Philip Cave, Chorworks is a week-long workshop for talented, early-career singers to deepen their facility with early music repertoire.
Chorworks' founder, Dr. Cave, is a conductor, educator, singer, and the director of the professional ensemble Magnificat. As a vocal soloist, he has worked with celebrated conductors including Leonard Bernstein, and at venues including the Beethovenhalle in Bonn and the Sydney Opera House. He has performed across Europe, at the BBC Promenade Concerts in London, and has shared the concert platform with many distinguished musicians, including Sir Peter Pears, Sting, and Sir Paul McCartney.
This year, Chorworks welcomes new and returning musicians, including former Duke organ scholar Katherine Johnson, Duke student instrumentalists, and Duke faculty members Professor Clara Rottsolk and Professor Roseen Giles.