Baroque Music Recital: Bernarda Fink, Giorgio Paronuzzi, and Emilia Gliozzi

Palazzi Aperti: After the summer break, two extraordinary concerts will kick off the musical season at the Académie de France in Rome. On Thursday, September 27, at the Villa Medici, mezzo-soprano Guillemette Laurens, accompanied by harpsichordist Mirella Giardelli, will perform rare Roman works from the first half of the 17th century. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, October 2, at the Palazzo Sacchetti, “Organizing concerts featuring the most beautiful Roman music from its golden age, the 17th century… …and to let them resonate in palaces that are not, or only rarely, accessible to the Roman public—this is the ambition behind the Villa Medici’s musical projects, of which this year’s two recitals serve as previews.”

Jean-Michel Damian (curator of the event and journalist for Radio France) Tuesday, October 2, 2007 – 8:00 p.m.: Palazzo Ricci-Sacchetti Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano; Giorgio Paronuzzi, harpsichordist; Emilia Ghiozzi, cellist Program: Giulio Caccini (1604–1618) “Vedrò il mio Sole” by Giulio Caccini; “Amarilli mia bella” by Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643); “La Tromboncina,” a canzona for cello and basso continuo Sigismondo D’India (c. 1582–1629) “Voi, che ascoltate” by Girolamo Frescobaldi “La Superba,” canzona for cello and b.c. Girolamo Frescobaldi “Così mi disprezzate” Girolamo Frescobaldi Toccata for solo harpsichord Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) “Lamento d’Ariana” by Claudio Monteverdi “Quel sguardo sdegnosetto” by Francesco Germiniani (1687–1762) Sonata No. 3 for cello and b.c. by Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759) “Lucrezia,” cantata for mezzo-soprano and basso continuo. From Via Giulia to Viale Trinità dei Monti: Cardinal Ricci of Montepulciano. The owner who gave Palazzo Sacchetti its current appearance was Cardinal Giovanni Ricci of Montepulciano, who resided there from 1552 to 1564; leaving his mark not only through his architectural style but also by giving it his name: the palace at 66 Via Giulia is in fact called the “Palazzo Ricci Sacchetti.”

In 1552, Cardinal Giovanni Ricci of Montepulciano purchased from Orazio Da Sangallo the palace that his father, Antonio Da Sangallo, had built for him on Via Giulia. Entrusting the construction work to his favorite architect, Nanni di Baccio Bigio, and the frescoes in the Hall of Globe Maps to Francesco Salviati, he transformed the existing palace into a residence worthy of his political ambitions. With this in mind, in 1564 he acquired the Vigne Crescenzi on the Pincio, next to the Trinità dei Monti, to settle there after long journeys abroad as a diplomat and to position himself directly across from the object of his desire, St. Peter’s Basilica. He once again called upon Nanni di Baccio Bigio for the work. As with the palace on Via Giulia, the watchwords were magnificence and grandiloquence.

The location is ideal, and the subliminal message is clear: all of Rome lies within view, and all of Rome enjoys the spectacle of this palace; to overlook Rome is to overlook the world… The concerts on September 27 and October 2 will offer the audience a unique and exclusive opportunity—thanks to the special opening of the Ricci Sacchetti Palace and the intimate nature of the recital—to discover the bond that unites these two palaces.