Modo Antiquo is an Italian instrumental ensemble dedicated to the performance of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, and

Medieval music Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissance ...

. It was founded in 1984 by

Federico Maria Sardelli Federico Maria Sardelli (born 1963) is an Italian conductor, historicist, composer, musicologist, comic artist, and flautist. He founded the medieval ensemble Modo Antiquo in 1984. In 1987, Modo Antiquo also became a baroque orchestra, debuti ...

. Twice nominated for a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, the ensemble has an extensive discography, primarily on the Naïve,

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also sp ...

, and Tactus labels and have given the first performances in modern times of several works by

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

. Modo Antiquo's larger ensemble is its Baroque orchestra led by Sardelli. It also has a smaller ensemble devoted to Medieval and Renaissance music led by Bettina Hoffmann.

History and repertoire

Modo Antiquo was founded in 1984 by the musicologist and flautist Federico Maria Sardelli and initially focused on Medieval and Renaissance music. The Baroque orchestra began in 1987, the 300th anniversary of

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

's death, when Sardelli organised a concert in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

which gave the first Italian performance in modern times of Lully's ''Ballet des Saisons''. The 25-piece orchestra played on a boat as it sailed around the city's canals. Since that time the orchestra has concentrated on the live performance and recording of music by Baroque composers, and particularly that of Vivaldi. They received two Grammy nominations, the first in 1996 for Vivaldi's ''Concerti Per Molti Istromenti'' and the second in 1999 for Corelli's ''Twelve concerti grossi'', Op. 6, both on the Tactus label. The orchestra later made multiple recordings for the ''Vivaldi Edition'', a project by Naïve Records to record the entire collection of Vivaldi autograph scores preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale in Turin. Modo Antiquo's recordings in this series include ''Arie d'Opera'', previously unrecorded arias from Vivaldi's personal collection (2005); ''Violin concertos'', Vol. II, six concertos for virtuoso violin collectively known as "''di sfida''" (2007); the opera '' Atenaide'' (2007); ''New Discoveries'', Vols. I and II, recently authenticated pieces from the Turin collection (2009, 2012); and the opera ''

Orlando furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

'' (2012). The Medieval ensemble of Modo Antiquo consists of 4 to 5 players, some of whom also play in the Baroque orchestra. It is led by Sardelli's wife, the musicologist and viola da gambist Bettina Hoffmann. They have a number of recordings on the

label and also perform in concert using modern copies of Medieval and Renaissance instruments. In 2011, they toured Italy with their performance of songs set to ''Confessio Goliae'' by the unidentified

Goliard The goliards were a group of generally young clergy in Europe who wrote satirical Latin poetry in the 12th and 13th centuries of the Middle Ages. They were chiefly clerics who served at or had studied at the universities of France, Germany, ...

known as only as Archipoeta. Only the texts were thought to have survived, but Hoffmann and scholars at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

were able to trace and reconstruct the original musical notation.

Modern day and world premieres

*Vivaldi's opera ''

Arsilda, regina di Ponto ''Arsilda, regina di Ponto'' is a dramma per musica by Antonio Vivaldi. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice on 27 or 28 October 1716. Roles Plot The plot was considered rather controversial at the time and led or ...

'', first performed in Venice in 1716. It received its first performance in modern times in 2001 at the

Opera Barga Festival The Opera Barga Festival is an annual opera festival held in July in the town of Barga, Italy, founded in 1967 by Peter Hunt and Gillian Armitage together with Peter Gellhorn as musical director and Lorenzo Malfatti, head of didactics. Its performa ...

with Modo Antiquo conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli. *Vivaldi's opera ''

Tito Manlio Tito Manlio (; RV 738) is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi, to a libretto by Matteo Noris. It was written in celebration of the marriage of Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt (1671–1736),Eric Cross. "Tito Manlio." The New Grove Dictionary of ...

'', first performed in Mantua in 1719. In 2003, it was given the first performance in modern times using the

critical edition Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...

of the score by Alessandro Borin. The performances took place at the Opera Barga Festival with Modo Antiquo conducted by Sardelli. * Vivaldi's opera ''

Motezuma ''Motezuma'', RV 723, is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi with an Italian libretto by Alvise Giusti. The libretto is very loosely based on the life of the Aztec ruler Montezuma who died in 1520. The first performance was given in the ...

'', first performed in Venice in 1733. The score, which was thought to be lost, was discovered in 2002, and in 2005 the opera was given its first performances in modern times by Modo Antiquo conducted by Sardelli. The first performance was in

concert version A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly presented in c ...

in June 2005 at the

De Doelen De Doelen is a concert venue and convention centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was originally built in 1934 but then destroyed in 1940 during the German bombardment of Rotterdam in May 1940 at the outset of World War II. It was rebuilt in 19 ...

hall in Rotterdam. In September 2005, the fully staged version was given in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

. *Vivaldi's opera '' L'Atenaide'', first performed in Florence in 1728. It was given its first performance in modern times in May 2006 at the

Teatro della Pergola The Teatro della Pergola is an historic opera house in Florence, Italy. It is located in the centre of the city on the Via della Pergola, from which the theatre takes its name. It was built in 1656 under the patronage of Cardinal Gian Carlo de' Med ...

(the site of its original premiere). It was presented during the

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (English: Florence Musical May) is an annual Italian arts festival in Florence, including a notable opera festival, under the auspices of the Opera di Firenze. The festival occurs between late April into June annuall ...

with Modo Antiquo conducted by Sardelli and performed again in August at the Opera Barga Festival. *The 1714 version of Vivaldi's opera ''

'', first performed in Venice in 1714 and recomposed by Vivaldi to the same libretto in 1727. The score was thought to have been lost until it was discovered in Turin. It was given its first staged performance in modern times at the

Festival de Beaune The Festival de Beaune: ''Festival international d’opéra baroque'' is a month-long annual summer festival of baroque opera in Beaune, France. It is notable for revivals of many baroque operas and performances of Mozart on original instruments H ...

in July 2012 with Modo Antiquo conducted by Sardelli. *Trio Sonata in G major RV 820, the earliest known work by Vivaldi. It received its world premiere in 2015 at the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

in Florence, along with two other previously unperformed early works by Vivaldi. All three were played by Modo Antiquo conducted by Sardelli. *

Intermedi The intermedio (also intromessa, introdutto, tramessa, tramezzo, intermezzo, intermedii), in the Italian Renaissance, was a theatrical performance or spectacle with music and often dance, which was performed between the acts of a play to cele ...

for ''

La pellegrina ''The Pilgrim Woman'' (''La pellegrina'') is a 1579 play written by Girolamo Bargagli of Siena that had been performed for the first time on 2 May 1589 in Florence, after the author's death in 1586, on the occasion of the marriage of Ferdinand I ...

'', six operatic interludes composed by

Cristofano Malvezzi Cristofano Malvezzi (baptised June 28, 1547 – January 22, 1599) was an Italian organist and composer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most famous composers in the city of Florence during a time of transition to the Baroque Th ...

Luca Marenzio Luca Marenzio (also Marentio; October 18, 1553 or 1554 – August 22, 1599) was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote some of the most famous examples of the fo ...

Giulio Caccini Giulio Romolo Caccini (also Giulio Romano) (8 October 1551 – buried 10 December 1618) was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the founders of the genre ...

Giovanni de' Bardi Giovanni de' Bardi (5 February 1534 – September 1612), Count of Vernio, was an Italian literary critic, writer, composer and soldier. Biography Giovanni de' Bardi was born in Florence. While he received a deep classical education, becoming pr ...

Jacopo Peri Jacopo Peri (20 August 156112 August 1633), known under the pseudonym Il Zazzerino, was an Italian composer and singer of the transitional period between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and is often called the inventor of opera. He wrote the ...

and

Emilio de' Cavalieri Emilio de' Cavalieri (c. 155011 March 1602), or Emilio dei Cavalieri, the spellings "del" and "Cavaliere" are contemporary typographical errors, was an Italian composer, producer, organist, diplomat, choreographer and dancer at the end of th ...

, performed in Florence in 1589 to celebrate the marriage of

Ferdinand I de' Medici Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 3 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I. Early life Ferdinando was the fifth son (the third surviving at t ...

and

Christina of Lorraine Christina of Lorraine or Christine de Lorraine (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637) was a member of the House of Lorraine and was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany by marriage. She served as Regent of Tuscany jointly with her daughter-in-law during t ...

. The first Italian performance in modern times was staged in 2019 during the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with Modo Antiquo conducted by Sardelli.

References

External links

* (in Italian and English)
Official YouTube Channel
{{Early music ensembles Early music groups Baroque music groups Early music orchestras Italian classical music groups Musical groups established in 1984