When at the beginning of the 17^th century musical genius Claudio Monteverdi, whose 450^th birthday the whole musical world is celebrating this year, formulated the basics of a new musical language, human singing as the most natural expression of the human soul became his strongest inspiration. The ensemble Cappella Mariana, specializing in the interpretation of medieval and Renaissance polyphony and the vocal repertoire of Early Baroque, paid tribute to this composer. Besides the extensive sacred works, Monteverdi also dedicated himself to songwriting during all his life with focus on madrigals, which are irreplaceable in the history of music. Monteverdi’s madrigals created the core of the program of the concert on Friday. The Cappella Mariana proved that what is said about it is true – “perfect harmony of sound, intonation accuracy and elaborateness of details”.

The artistic leader of the ensemble is Vojtěch Semerád, who said the following about the festival engagement, “We are really glad that we performed our program at the Masquerade Hall of the Renaissance Český Krumlov Chateau. In our imagination we were able to go back in time, together with the viewers, to the Renaissance Venice of Claudio Monteverdi. It was in the Venetian palaces that this music of new madrigals was played.” And he continued, “We were really impressed by the attentive audience. We would like to thank the festival for the invitation to these spaces and atmosphere. As an artist I have already performed at the festival with the sisterly ensemble Collegium Marianum but this was the first time for my Cappella Mariana ensemble.” And what are the specific characteristics and charms of Monteverdi’s music? “I believe that Monteverdi was a timeless composer. In his madrigal works he was a master of affect as he was able to express the pain resulting from unrequited love or, on the contrary, the joy resulting from requited love, which were the main themes of these compositions. As far as his compositional sequences are concerned, he basically used the harmony of the 20^th century. As a singer I would certainly highlight the composer’s incredible feel for the language and its use in music. He really helped the singers by that and wrote it so to say for their tongue,” is how Vojtěch Semerád assessed Monteverdi’s music.