Hyperion Records

This unpretentious composition is a Vesper hymn that belongs to the ‘Common of One Martyr’, that is, the part of the liturgy used for all male saints and martyrs, including St Lawrence. The use of two obbligato oboes, in addition to the normal strings, is foreign to the Pietà; all indices point to a date of composition in the 1720s. As usual, Vivaldi sets only alternate stanzas (1, 3 and 5) of the hymn, leaving the others for performance in plainsong or paraphrase on the organ.

from notes by Michael Talbot © 1999