Baroque: Angels Behind the Walls

Explore the rich musical heritage of 18th-century Italy, where extraordinary compositions emerged from convents. On Friday, April 11,  Seraphic Fire presents Baroque: Angels Behind the Walls at the Church of the Little Flower. Under the direction of Patrick Dupre Quigley, this performance will feature a chorus, vocal soloists and a period orchestra, with scholarly guidance from Craig A. Monson of Washington University in St. Louis.

The concert will showcase works by Antonio Vivaldi, including the renowned Magnificat, written for the Ospedale della Pietà, a Venetian convent and orphanage. Alongside Vivaldi’s compositions, the concert will highlight the music of talented female composers such as Chiara Margarita Cozzolani and Maria Xaveria Perucona, whose ecstatic choral pieces often challenged the boundaries set by religious authorities. Featured works include Cozzolani’s O caeli cives and Perucona’s Gaude plaude, providing a rare glimpse into the secretive and creative lives of these cloistered women.