Croce: Motetti & Sacrae Cantiones Voces Suaves, Francesco Saverio Pedrini, Concerto Scirocco & Giulia Genini

• Giovanni Croce (1557 - 1609):
• 1 Omnes gentes 02:55
• Giovanni Picchi (1571 - 1643):
• 2 Canzon Decimaquarta 03:45
• Giovanni Croce:
• 3 Anima mea liquefacta est 03:00
• 4 Percussit Saul mille 02:11
• Vincenzo Bell'haver (1540 - 1587):
• 5 Toccata 03:23
• Giovanni Croce:
• 6 Egredimini et videte 02:41
• Giovanni Gabrieli (1557 - 1612):
• 7 Canzon III a 4, Ch. 188 01:57
• Giovanni Croce:
• 8 Ornaverunt faciem templi 02:47
• Andrea Gabrieli (1553 - 1585):
• 9 Canzon ariosa 03:00
• Giovanni Croce:
• 10 Ave virgo 02:48
• Giovanni Gabrieli:
• 11 Canzon Terza 02:50
• Giovanni Croce:
• 12 Virgo decus nemorum 03:15
• Gioseffo Guami (1542 - 1611):
• 13 Canzon Settimadecima 02:46
• Giovanni Croce:
• 14 Hodie completi sunt 02:35
• Claudio Merulo (1533 - 1604):
• 15 Toccata Terza 04:52
• Giovanni Croce:
• 16 Quaeramus cum pastoribus 07:25
• Total Runtime 52:10

Info for Croce: Motetti & Sacrae Cantiones

Venice, July 1603: Giovanni Croce, known as ‘il Chiozzotto’, a priest at the church of Santa Maria Formosa, was appointed maestro di cappella of St Mark’s basilica, one of the most prestigious posts in the musical world of the time.

A controversial biography, many aspects of which have not yet been elucidated, and a musical output of excellent quality constitute the appeal of this composer born in Chioggia, who is still overshadowed today by his famous successors. Yet Giovanni Croce proves to be an extraordinary figure, halfway between the conservative Venetian school of Gioseffo Zarlino and the modernism of Claudio Monteverdi. He makes masterly use of double chorus and of such special devices as echo effects, while maintaining a fine transparency in his counterpoint that links him with classical polyphony.

Two exceptional young Swiss ensembles, the vocal group Voces Suaves (which has won several prizes for its first two recordings) and the instrumental ensemble Concerto Scirocco, combine here in the magnificent surroundings of the palatine basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua, where they have the advantage of the outstanding Antegnati organ built in 1565, to honour Giovanni Croce and his contemporaries and introduce us to other aspects of the glorious musical activity at St Mark’s.

Voces Suaves
Concerto Scirocco
Giula Genini, direction

Voces Suaves
The Basel-based vocal ensemble is dedicated to the musical repertoire of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, with each musician performing as soloist within the ensemble. Thanks to the musicians’ historically informed background and the familiarity with the languages of the various compositions, they can evoke a highly sonorous, captivatingly warm sound, thus transforming the music into highly personal emotions and perceptions. The intensive cooperation and personal friendships within the group provide the basis for a common understanding and trust in the group’s musical development and interpretational work.

Tobias Wicky (baritone) founded the ensemble in 2012 together with a core of eight professional singers, most of whom have their roots in the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Depending on the requirements of the program, the cast varies and can be supplemented with instrumentalists.

Our repertoire embraces of a wide selection of Italian madrigals, compositions of the early German Baroque era, Italian oratorio and masses for larger casts. Apart from the compositions of renowned masters, such as Monteverdi or Schütz, we also take pride in introducing works of formerly highly influential composers whose manuscripts were subsequently forgotten or temporarily lost, only to be recently rediscovered and now performed by Voces Suaves for the first time after many centuries.

Voces Suaves is consistently invited to perform at important locations, such as the Festival d'Ambronay, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Seviqc Brežice Festival Slovenia and the FAMB (Forum für Alte Musik Basel) concert series in Basel. From 2014 to 2016 the ensemble was part of the European development program „eeemerging, Emerging European Ensembles Project", fostering the artistic development of Voces Suaves.

claves records published our first CD „From Bologna to Beromünster - Mass & Psalms op. 36” by Maurizio Cazzati in March 2016; the recording was realized in cooperation with RISM Switzerland (Répertoire International des Sources Musicales) and is the first ever recording of this composition. The second CD of the ensemble, entitled L’Arte del Madrigale, was issued in November 2016; its program presents late Renaissance Madrigals from the ducal courts of Mantua and Ferrara. The album was released on the Ambronay Éditions Label, and has been awarded a Diapason découverte by the Diapason music magazine.

The ensemble was thus also actively involved in designing the program of the three-year concert series of Le Capitali della Musica, which was initiated and led by Francesco Pedrini. Each concert of Le Capitali della Musica was dedicated to one of the musical “capitals” of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods and its most influential composers.

The ensemble Concerto Scirocco
founded in June 2009, is dedicated to historically informed performance of Renaissance and Baroque music. The group members are young talented artists who met during their studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. This eclectic ensemble of early instruments is united by a common enthusiasm for the music of the renaissance, of the early baroque and of the baroque Era, and seeks to combine personal creativity with an awareness of historical performance practices garnered through experience of the world of early music.

The diversity and the flexibility of the ensemble allows for performance of both earlier and later music, from fifteenth-century alta capella to high Baroque. There is also scope to expand the core ensemble to involve other instrumentalists and singers to meet the demands of different repertoire, and also for core ensemble members to double on related instruments in keeping with the practice of multi-instrumentalists of the age. Concerto Scirocco considers this flexibility to be of great importance in understanding the development of early music throughout the centuries.

Concerto Scirocco was invited to perform in various renowned Festivals such as: Ceresio Estate Festival in Lugano, Festival Cantar di Pietre Ticino, Davos Festival Young Artists in Concert, Musiksommer am Zürichsee in Bubikon by Zürich, Festival Altstadt Serenaden Basel, Konzertreihe Midi Musique at the Theater Basel, Les Concerts de l’ADMA in Fribourg, Festival di Musica Antica in Magnano, Italy, Fabulous Fringe Festival in Utrecht, Holland, Festival Alte Musik Live in Berlin.

Giulia Genini
Born in Lugano, Switzerland, Giulia Genini began her studies on recorder at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana with Giorgio Merati. Her interest in early music and the instruments of the era led her to Basel where she continued her studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Conrad Steinmann. At the same time she began studying dulcian and baroque bassoon with Josep Borras and Donna Agrell. During her studies she also participated in numerous Master Classes, notably with Jordi Savall, Pierre Hamon, Masaaki Suzuki, Steven Devine and Katharina Arfken. In 2008 she obtained her diploma in recorder (performance and pedagogy) with distinction, and in 2010 she obtained her Master in Historical Performance Practice in baroque bassoon and dulcian, also with distinction.

She was awarded a scholarship of the FriedlWald Stiftung Basel (2005), as well as the ASRI Prize in 2009 (Schweizerische Gesellschaft zur Pflege der kulturellen und wirtschaftlichen Beziehungen zu Italien/Basel). In 2014 she won the first prize of the Foudation Kiefer Hablitzel.

In 2015 she played as a soloist at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, as winner of the Kiefer Hablitzel Preis.

As a recorder player and a bassoonist she performs with Ensembles such as: La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, I Barocchisti, Accademia Bizantina, Il Giardino Armonico, La Divina Armonia, Ensemble Claudiana, La Piffarescha, Cappella Mediterranea, Kammerorchester Basel, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Accademia degli Astrusi, Freitagsakademie Bern, Capriccio Basel, Il Pomo d’Oro, Il Complesso Barocco, NDR Barockorchester, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre de l’Académie Européenne, Britten Pears Baroque Orchestra, Cantus Cölln and Concerto Palatino, Freiburger Barockorchester, Il Gusto Barocco, Miszla Baroque Orchestra. She has worked with conductors such as Andrea Marcon, Diego Fasolis, Giovanni Antonini, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Luca Pianca, Leonardo Garcia-Alarcon, Ottavio Dantone, Stefano Montanari, Alan Curtis, William Christie, Masaaki Suzuki, Bernhard Forck, Konrad Junghänel, Ivor Bolton, Federico Ferri, Gabriel Garrido, Andreas Stoehr, Jörg Halubeck.

In october 2012 she performed as a guest recorder player with the Berliner Philharmoniker for a Vivaldi programm conducted by Andrea Marcon.

As a soloist she performed together with Venice Baroque Orchestra conducted by Andrea Marcon at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Schleswig Holstein Musikfestival, Settimane Musicali di Ascona, Geneva Victoria Hall, Carinthischer Sommer Festival Ossiach, 59. Festspiele Europäische Wochen Passau in Ostbayern and in New York Carnegie Hall.

She also performed with the previously indicated Ensembles in the following festivals and stages: Festival d’Aix en Provence, Festival MITO Milano, Snape Maltings Festival Aldeburgh, Settimane Musicali di Ascona, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Philharmonie Berlin, Teatro alla Scala, Konzerthaus Wien, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Leipziger Gewandhaus, Meistersingerhalle Nürnberg, Concerti d’autunno all’Auditorio Lugano, LAC Lugano, Vaduzer Konzerte, Stadt-Casino Basel, Auditorio de Girona, Palau de la Musica di Barcellona, Auditorio Nacional de la Musica Madrid, Teatro Real de Madrid, Theater Basel, Theater an der Wien, Schlosstheater Celle, Théâtre Métropole de Lausanne, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Grand Théâtre de Provence, Teatro Comunale di Treviso, Teatro Grande di Brescia, Tonhalle Zürich, Concertgebow Amsterdam, Auditorio de Oviedo, Auditorio de Valencia, Grimaldi Forum Monte Carlo, Opéra Royale de Versailles, Festival d’Ambronay, Trigonale Festival, Bodø Concerthall, Tivoli Concerthall Copenhagen, Innsbrucker Festwochen der alten Musik, Haendel Festspiele Halle, Bachfestival Leipzig, Musikfest Bremen, Festival Wratilsawia Cantans Wroclaw, Misteria Paschalia Krakow, Fabbriceria Duomo Venzone, KKL Luzern, Auditorio Stelio Molo Lugano, Festival di Musica Antica a Magnano, Fabulous Fringe Festival Utrecht, Davos Festival Young Artists in Concert, Festival Cantar di Pietre, Ceresio Estate, Festival Alte Musik Live Berlin, Festival Altstadt Serenaden Basel, Festival Midi Musique Basel.

Radio recordings for RSI Radio Svizzera Italiana Rete Due, Radio de la Suisse Romande Espace 2, Radio Swiss Classic, Radio Classique France, SRF Kultur und MDR, video recordings for ARTE, TSI and Schweizer Fernsehen and CD recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Virgin Classics, Decca, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and CPO.

In 2015 and 2016 she was guest-teacher at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano for Masterclasses about Early Chamber Music.

She was member of the jury for the Swiss Youth Music Competition in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. She teaches recorder at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano.

Booklet for Croce: Motetti & Sacrae Cantiones