Two Exceptional Baroque Music Concerts in Monaco

The Department of Cultural Affairs is renewing at the beginning of December a programme dedicated to Baroque music, hosting over two evenings in the sacred venues of Monaco the ensembles Les Passions, Dulci Jubilo, and Concerto Soave.

On 2 December at 8:30 PM, the legacy of the great master Monteverdi will resonate inside the Sacré-Cœur Church in Les Moneghetti, with a concert by the Ensemble Les Passions, a Baroque orchestra based in Montauban and created by recorder player Jean-Marc Andrieu.
Made up of four musicians – two violins, a viola da gamba, and an organ – the ensemble will be joined by the chamber choir Dulci Jubilo, bringing a “sweet joy”, as its name suggests, and honouring historical performance techniques on period instruments.

This programme, titled 1643, The Italian Legacy, highlights the lineage between Claudio Monteverdi and Marc-Antoine Charpentier, represented through the Roman composer Carissimi, Charpentier’s teacher, who in 1648 wrote the celebrated biblical oratorio Jephté, considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian Baroque music.
The concert is conducted by Jean-Marc Andrieu, in collaboration with composer and choir director Christopher Gibert, who brings creativity and renewal to the French choral repertoire.

On 4 December at 8:30 PM, the Saint-Charles Church in Monte-Carlo will host From Darkness to Light, performed by the Ensemble Concerto Soave, born from the encounter between soprano María Cristina Kiehr and organist Jean-Marc Aymes, who, under his direction, brings a poetic and striking sound energy to the venue.

To illustrate this transition “from darkness to light”, Concerto Soave has crafted a programme in which the joy of Christmas follows the evocation of death, by performing cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, jewels of Western music.

For this musical journey, Concerto Soave has brought together, alongside its instrumentalists, a high-calibre vocal quartet, capable of conveying the spiritual depth and expressive beauty of the music of the Cantor of Leipzig.

The concerts are preceded by a convivial gathering at 8 PM.
Free entry, subject to available seating.
Full programme: https://culture.mc/