A Day Before Spring

Almost here! Just about! But not quite yet! Although, really, how much longer can we wait?

On the last day of winter, we invite you to experience the sounds of Italian Baroque from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The program features madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi alongside instrumental works by his contemporaries — Girolamo Frescobaldi, Biagio Marini, and Dario Castello.

The performance is structured as a miniature drama of emotions: ranging from the lighthearted infatuation and wordplay of the early madrigals to the more intense, almost theatrical scenes of Monteverdi’s later works, such as Lamento della Ninfa. Instrumental sonatas and canzonas continue the conversation — wordlessly, yet filled with character and movement. Here, tenderness coexists with irony, and clarity with inner turmoil. In short, it captures everything we experience as spring approaches.