Hyperion Records

This solo motet, whose text paraphrases part of Psalm 23 (24 in Protestant bibles) and quotes part of the rite of the Paschal Vigil (the praise of Easter at the blessing of the Paschal Candle expressed in the words ‘O felix culpa quae talem meruit habere Redemptorem’), must have been composed for the conclusion of Holy Week. Bibliographical factors suggest a date around 1715.

Unusually, the autograph manuscript leaves out the composer’s name. It likewise fails to identify the singer for whom it was composed, although that is less unexpected. In fact, the character of the contralto part and its accompaniment make it very likely that the singer was Geltruda (1684-1752), one of the Pietà’s leading musicians in the 1710s. Typically for a figlia di coro, Geltruda was active in more than a single capacity, being also a theorboist and a viola player. As a singer, she had a very narrow compass (the vocal part in RV633 stretches from Middle C only as far as the D a ninth above it) and a rather weak voice; a composer had to take care, as Vivaldi does, not to allow it to be drowned by the instruments. It is for this reason that when the contralto sings she is either accompanied by continuo alone or her part is doubled by violins.

from notes by ©