CONCERT

The Conservatorio di Musica “Luca Marenzio” di Brescia and Darfo Boario Terme presents an event of outstanding artistic and musicological significance: the rediscovery of the eighteenth-century oratorio Il Cantico de’ tre fanciulli (1774) by Johann Adolf Hasse. A manuscript source dating from the 18th century is preserved in the Conservatory’s library, and the work will be presented in its Italian premiere on period instruments. 

The production will feature the Marenzio Consort STU.D.I.O. and the Early Music Department of the Conservatorio di Musica “Luca Marenzio” Brescia, conducted by Vittorio Ghielmi, one of the leading performers and scholars of early music on the international scene.

The initiative is part of the PNRR INTAFAM IartNET project – an international platform for artistic research and cultural heritage at Italian higher arts education institutions, funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU, Mission 4.

A late eighteenth-century masterpiece to be rediscovered

Originally composed in 1734 and later revised and expanded in 1774, the oratorio sets to music the biblical episode, weaving together theatrical drama, virtuosic writing, and choral moments of profound spiritual intensity. Structured in two parts with sinfonias, arias, recitatives, and large choral sections, the score culminates in the final chorus “La grand’opra”, in which the dramatic tension of the entire narrative is symbolically resolved.
This production forms part of a broader programme of research and enhancement of the late-Baroque and pre-Classical repertoire developed by the Conservatory within its 2025–26 Concert Season, as well as through activities supported by the PNRR iARTnet project, coordinated for the Conservatory’s operational unit by Marcello Mazzetti, an internationally renowned musician and musicologist and Professor of Musicology and Music History.

Vittorio Ghielmi: research, virtuosity, and vision

The performance will be conducted by Vittorio Ghielmi, internationally acclaimed viola da gamba player, conductor, and composer. Described by critics as an “Alchemist of sound” and a “Shaman of sound,” Ghielmi is Professor at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music in London. He has collaborated with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Philharmonia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Freiburger Barockorchester, and has performed in numerous contemporary world premieres. His presence ensures an interpretation that is philologically grounded while remaining vivid, theatrical, and deeply communicative.

Soloists and the Early Music Department

The roles will be performed by young artists and professionals:
• Anania – Jessica Zizioli
• Azaria – Eleonora Mingardi
• Misaele – Nicolò Tommaso
• Angel – Anna Bessi
• Nebuchadnezzar – Fulvio Bettini

Vocal coaches:
• Andrea Arrivabene – soloists
• Pierangelo Pelucchi – choir
• Rafael Negri – instrumentalists

The performance involves the Early Music Department of the Conservatory, bringing together faculty and students from programmes in Renaissance and Baroque singing, historical instruments, and performance practice, in an experience that integrates advanced training, research, and artistic production. For the Brescia performance, thanks are extended to Father Ottavio Carminati and the Convent of San Francesco.

A project between territory and research

This initiative represents a concrete example of how advanced artistic education can generate cultural value for the local community: musicological research, historically informed performance practice, and institutional collaboration converge in an event that restores to the public a significant page of Europe’s musical heritage. Two cities, two historic churches, one major cultural project.

 

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