Keys to Heaven (Australian Chamber Choir)
A small Venetian jewel shines again after 300 years
by Tony Way on 21 March, 2025
Here we have a touching tale of two women separated by some 300 years. Back in 2021, Melbourne harpsichordist, singer and musicological sleuth Elizabeth Anderson brought to light the work of a physically disabled orphan named Agata. Born without the fingers of her left hand, Agata resided in Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, made famous by the presence of the “red priest” Antonio Vivaldi.
Sympathetically reconstructed by Anderson, Agata’s cantata Ecce nunc, a setting of Psalm 134, is a graciously lyrical six-movement work that probably would have been sung at Compline, the last monastic service of the day. After touring the work through Victoria and then to Venice itself, the Australian Chamber Choir has now given this charming work a worthy first recording after three centuries of obscurity. Directed by Douglas Lawrence, the ACC and a small string ensemble endow the score with focussed intimacy, further enhanced by agile soprano and alto soloists drawn from the choir’s ranks.
After this revelatory Venetian experience, come concert recordings of works by celebrated Roman composers, Palestrina and Allegri. Both Palestrina’s Missa Aeterna Christi munera and Tu es Petrus benefit from clarity of ensemble and diction, qualities also present in Allegri’s Miserere, presented in the version popularised last century with a succession of glorious high Cs sung by Elspeth Bawden.
A splendid Easter motet for double choir, Christus resurgens is sung with abundant verve, reflecting the joy of the resurrection and thus allowing this disc to begin and end with uplifting choral discoveries.
Title: Keys to Heaven Works: Music by Agata Della Pietà, Palestrina & Allegri Performer: Australian Chamber Choir Label: Move Records MCD659