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

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, and

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

. It was founded in 1984 by Federico Maria Sardelli. Twice nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

, the ensemble has an extensive discography, primarily on the

Naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

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 s ...

, 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, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

. 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 ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

's death, when Sardelli organised a concert in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

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'') 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 not published in its complete form ...

'' (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 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 () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

were able to trace and reconstruct the original musical notation.

Modern day and world premieres

*Vivaldi's opera '' Arsilda, regina di Ponto'', first performed in Venice in 1716. It received its first performance in modern times in 2001 at the Opera Barga Festival with Modo Antiquo conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli. *Vivaldi's opera '' Tito Manlio'', 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 literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may range i ...

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'', 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, typically without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly pres ...

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 is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. *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 (), sometimes known as just La Pergola, is a 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 p ...

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

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (literal English translation: '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 A ...

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. ...

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 ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum 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 and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

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 celeb ...

for '' La pellegrina'', 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 style. ...

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 f ...

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 o ...

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 ...

Jacopo Peri Jacopo Peri (20 August 156112 August 1633) was an Italian composer, singer and instrumentalist of the late Renaissance music, Renaissance and early Baroque music, Baroque periods. He wrote what is considered the first opera, the mostly lost ''D ...

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 t ...

, 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 – 17 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I, who presumably died from malaria. Early life Ferdinando was the ...

and

Christina of Lorraine Christina of Lorraine (, ) (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637) was a noblewoman of the House of Lorraine who became a Grand Duchess of Tuscany by marriage. She served as Regent of Tuscany jointly with her daughter-in-law during the minority of ...

. 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