"When wonderful scores of music have been rediscovered after being forgotten for 350 years, it's akin to finding doubloons that were lost at the bottom of the ocean in a shipwreck. Yet the result of musical rediscovery is much better than finding long-lost gold, because musical treasures can be shared with a world of listeners."
"While in Rome, she founded a house orchestra; commissioned works from top-tier composers (Corelli, Scarlatti, Pasquini, and Carissimi); established the Arcadian Academy, which was dedicated to history, science, and the arts; and, if that weren't enough, founded one of Rome's first opera houses, the Tor di Nona."
"Due to the assiduous research of PBO musicologist John K. Cox, these pieces were found in a library in Germany. Most likely they belonged to Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689). Although a Protestant, she abdicated her throne in 1654, converted to Catholicism, and moved to Rome."
The Portland Baroque Orchestra presented a concert featuring previously unknown compositions by Alessandro Melani (1639-1703) originally written for nuns at the Augustinian convent of Santa Lucia in Rome. Musicologist John K. Cox discovered these pieces in a German library, likely belonging to Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated her Protestant throne in 1654, converted to Catholicism, and moved to Rome. Christina became a major cultural patron, founding a house orchestra, commissioning works from renowned composers, establishing the Arcadian Academy, and founding one of Rome's first opera houses. The concert marked the first modern performance of these musical treasures, performed by six stellar soloists whose voices brought Melani's brilliantly crafted pieces to life for Portland audiences.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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