A festive Marian Vespers by the Salzburg court bandmaster Stefano Bernardi
Born in Verona, Stefano Bernardi was already a famous man when he was appointed Kapellmeister to Archduke Charles of Austria in 1622. Charles, a brother of Emperor Ferdinand II, was Prince-Bishop of Breslau and Brixen. In 1624, Bernardi became court bandmaster to the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg, Count Paris von Lodron. In the year of this career leap, Bernardi published a collection of double-choir vesper psalms in Venice. They are at the centre of the liturgical reconstruction of a vespers service for a Marian feast at the Innsbruck court. Such a liturgical celebration also included chorales, organ music, pieces for instrumental ensemble and compositions in which the chorale and organ alternate (alternatim practice). The early Venetian-style monody, i.e. the modern solo motet with basso continuo accompaniment, also found its way into the Habsburg court chapels at an early stage. Bernardi’s sacred and secular compositions were also known in Innsbruck and were performed by the court chapel under the direction of Johann Stadlmayr. 1624 was also an important year for Stadlmayr – after long negotiations, his employer Archduke Leopold V finally decided to officially reappoint the “Prefect of Music” as Kapellmeister after he had lost this honourable title following the death of Archduke Maximilian III in 1618.
Bonus: 6.15 pm introductory talk
Sun, 29 September 2024, 4 pm, Hofkirche Innsbruck: Final concert of the “Cantare et Sonare” workshop