La Donna e la Musica

This programme tells the story of Armenian and Italian cultural exchange in Venice. The Venetian island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni has been home to an Armenian monastery since 1717, where monks studied and transcribed ancient Armenian chant and folk music. We combine the sounds of San Lazzaro with those of Venice itself, with works by both Giulio and Francesca Caccini, Claudio Monteverdi, Luca Marenzio, and Barbara Strozzi, all published in Venice in the 16th and 17th Centuries. We also integrate folk music that was transcribed by Komitas Vartapet, an Armenian musicologist, composer, and priest who visited the monastery in 1907. The practice of self-accompaniment brings together early Italian and Armenian folk traditions, creating a programme that tells stories of both divine and romantic love, exploring love’s elements of suffering and redemption.