Arts Council grant for Adrian Chandler

For all Vivaldi claimed that he was unable to say mass due to a chest

ailment, he composed a prodigious amount of instrumental and vocal music to be used during church services.  'Red Priest' celebrates this side of the composer, placing sacred concertos alongside virtuosic motets inspired by tempestuous seas. The programme, which will lead to a new disc in La Serenissima's award-winning series of Vivaldi recordings, includes the Concerto per la Solennità di S. Lorenzo for violin, strings & continuo in F, RV 286; the Concerto for violin, strings & continuo in G, RV 307, and the motets In turbato mare and Sum in medio tempestatum for soprano, strings and continuo.

La Serenissima is one of the UK’s leading historical performance ensembles. Founded and directed by Adrian Chandler, the group specializes in the music of Antonio Vivaldi and his contemporaries. They have performed worldwide to great acclaim and in 2010 won a Gramophone Award. Their eleventh CD, Venice by Night was released in June 2012 and includes world premiere recordings of music by Lotti, Pollarolo, Porta and Veracini alongside better known composers such as Vivaldi and Albinoni ; this CD reached the top ten of the UK classical charts as did their 2013 recording Vivaldi — A Tale of Two Seasons.

2014 marks the 20th anniversary of the group’s existence and they will be celebrating with trips to Estonia, Germany, Italy and the production of two new recordings.

‘These are musicians who quite simply love their Vivaldi and their spirit is contagious’ BBC Music Magazine, Disc of the Month, October 2013.