Monteverdi at the National Cathedral

The Folger Consort, a nationally renowned chamber music ensemble who perform music from the 12th through the 18th century, begin the new year with a concert featuring music written 400 years ago: Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers of the Blessed Virgin, published in Venice in 1610.

Although the Consort most often perform locally in the intimate confines of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Elizabethan Theater, this weekend they continue their tradition of staging at least one concert series in the vast expanse of the National Cathedral. According to the Consort, the “resonant reaches of Washington National Cathedral provide a magnificent venue for the timeless masterpiece,” 1610 Vespers, one of the towering masterpieces of the Baroque era.

With this work, Monteverdi, a master of both old and avant-garde style, composed a work both retrospective and startlingly new—the grand Psalm settings are meditations on the age-old Gregorian chants, and the “sacred songs” are Monteverdi’s bold introduction of the latest theatrical style to liturgical music. Unlike most modern performances of the Vespers, the Folger Consort’s period version, without a conductor, features one-on-a-part virtuoso instrumentalists and vocal soloists who also serve as the choir.

The concerts will be held on Friday, January 8 and Saturday, January 9 at 8:00 p.m.

Folger Consort, 1610 Vespers