Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The all-star BEMF Vocal & Chamber Ensembles return to Boston and New York City with modern premieres of cantatas by Roman Baroque composer Marco Marazzoli

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ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Marco Marazzoli (ca. 1602–1662) was a harpist, tenor, and composer who wrote more than 380 cantatas for one to six voices, in addition to operas, oratorios, motets, and liturgical works. Marazzoli began working for Cardinal Antonio Barberini at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome around 1626, and continued serving the papal family for the rest of his life. He commissioned a spectacular triple harp, which still survives in the Musical Instrument Museum in Rome, as well as a painting of that instrument, which hangs in the Palazzo Barberini today. The six-voice cantatas featured here were composed late in his career, commissioned by Pope Alexander VII and designed for performance at the Vatican, the Palazzo Quirinale, and the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo. Marazzoli most likely performed in these cantatas himself as a tenor as well as a harpist.

“Our received notion of music history presents Venice and Florence as the two major musical centers in 17th-century Italy,” writes Musical Co-Director Paul O’Dette in his program notes. “On the other hand, the music of 17^th-century Rome has mostly flown under the radar. But between 1620 and 1660, Rome was home to the largest number of supremely gifted composers of vocal music anywhere in Europe, music which had a profound influence not only on the cantatas of Venetian composers, but especially on French music of the period. This program focuses on a special subset of that repertoire, Marazzoli’s cantatas for six voices, two violins, and basso continuo. The cantatas survive in nearly illegible autograph scores in the Vatican archives, which is undoubtedly the main reason these works have not been performed in modern times, despite the extraordinary quality of the music itself."

Marco Marazzoli’s miniature dramas present a kaleidoscopic variety of arias, duets, trios and quartets culminating in glorious choruses for six voices. Each cantata treats a different subject: one features Bacchus and his followers overindulging in the grape harvest, another recounts Radamisto’s daring escape from the clutches of vengeful King Tiridate. Il Riposo conjures the peace and tranquility of the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, while another, La Guerra e la Pace, is an allegory of the struggle between War and Peace. A thrilling cast of singers brings Marazzoli’s extraordinary harmonies to life, including GRAMMY-winner Aaron Sheehan and GRAMMY nominees Teresa Wakim and Jesse Blumberg, among other stellar voices. They are accompanied by the incomparable BEMF Chamber Ensemble in a modern premiere of these magnificent works.

ASSOCIATED EVENTS
A pre-concert video featuring Paul O’Dette will be shared on BEMF.org and social media the week of February 26.

A pre-concert talk will precede the performance in New York at 2:30pm on Sunday, March 3.

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Stephen Stubbs, who won the Grammy Award as conductor for Best Opera Recording in 2015, spent a thirty-year career in Europe. He returned to his native Seattle in 2006 as one of the world’s most respected lutenists, conductors, and Baroque opera specialists. He now lives with his family in Agua Dulce, California. In 2007, Stephen established his new production company, Pacific MusicWorks (PMW), based in Seattle, reflecting his lifelong interest in both early music and contemporary performance. The company’s inaugural presentation was a production of South African artist William Kentridge’s acclaimed multimedia staging of Claudio Monteverdi’s opera The Return of Ulysses in a co-production with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. PMW’s performances of the Monteverdi Vespers were described in the press as “utterly thrilling” and “of a quality you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else in the world.” Stephen Stubbs is also the Boston Early Music Festival’s Artistic Co-Director along with his long-time colleague Paul O’Dette. Stephen and Paul are also the musical directors of all BEMF operas, recordings of which were nominated for six GRAMMY awards, including one GRAMMY win in 2015. In recent years he has conducted Handel’s Messiah with the Seattle, Edmonton, Birmingham, Houston, and Nova Scotia Symphony orchestras. His extensive discography as conductor and solo lutenist includes well over 100 CDs, many of which have received international acclaim and awards.

ABOUT THE BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL:
Recognized as the preeminent early music presenter and Baroque opera producer in North America, the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) has been credited with securing Boston’s reputation as “America’s early music capital” (The Boston Globe). Founded in 1981, BEMF offers diverse programs and activities, including one GRAMMY Award–winning and five GRAMMY Award–nominated opera recordings, an annual concert series that brings early music’s brightest stars to the Boston and New York concert stages, and a biennial week-long Festival and Exhibition recognized as the “world’s leading festival of early music” (The Times, London). The 23^rd Boston Early Music Festival will take place from June 8 to 15, 2025, and will feature a fully staged production of Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia. BEMF’s Artistic Leadership includes Artistic Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Opera Director Gilbert Blin, Orchestra Director Robert Mealy, and Dance Director Melinda Sullivan.

The Boston Early Music Festival is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Constellation Charitable Foundation, and WCRB Classical Radio Boston, as well as a number of generous foundations and individuals from around the world.

For more information, press tickets, or to schedule an interview, please contact Kathleen Fay at kathy@bemf.org.

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