Concert

A book of madrigals by Andrea Gabrieli dedicated to Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Tyrol

A concert of the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music In 1579, Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria Tyrol travelled to Venice with his nephew Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria to celebrate Carnival incognito in noble company. Of course, the princely guests did not go unrecognised. They indulged in all kinds of merriment and were splendidly entertained: The musicians of San Marco came daily to play for the princes and their entourage. It was probably on this occasion that the organist at St Mark’s Cathedral, Andrea Gabrieli, and Archduke Ferdinand came into closer contact. This probably explains why the famous Venetian dedicated a collection of six-part madrigals to the Tyrolean prince a year later.

The Innsbruck Court Music Ensemble will perform this masterpiece from the year of Ferdinand’s first wife Philippine Welser’s death in the Spanish Hall of Ambras Castle, a unique original venue. As at all Habsburg courts during the Renaissance, the cultivation of the madrigal as the highest form of vocal chamber music flourished at the court of Emperor Ferdinand. This is evidenced, among other things, by the inventories of Innsbruck court music, in which a striking number of madrigal collections by renowned composers are listed.