Venice brims with local artists, musicians, and storytellers
Venetian Curiosities assumes, as a 2012 release the second niche in the book and CD series by Donna Leon, world-renowned creator of the Guido Brunetti mystery novels, on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century creations and inventions contemporaneous with Baroque music. It therefore belongs amid releases of:
• Title #1, Handel’s Bestiary in 2011; and
• Title #3, Gondola in 2013.
The first and third publications respectively contain performances of:
• 12 aria by George Frideric Handel (February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759); and
• Venice’s hallmark folk music, the barcarole, connected with Venice’s signature water transport, the gondola.
The third publication contrastingly details:
• folklore of Venice’s beloved city-specific tales; and
• music of Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741).
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Website:
http://www.ilcomplessobarocco.com/
http://www.donnaleon.net/
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Comments
Mira, Thank you for mentioning the number of famous St. Stephen's churches in Europe. It's an interesting fact to keep in mind. One of my favorites is the elegantly simple Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry in the Aquitanian region of France.
P.S. are -> there are :)
Just as you find Donna Leon's books interesting, I find that your articles, too, are very inspiring. I didn't know Vivaldi's funeral took place in the Stephansdom! By the way, I'm surprised how many famous St. Stephen's churches are in Europe.
All three of Donna Leon's book+CD combos impress me with the information which she shares and the selections which she makes for musical and textual themes. For example, Handel's Bestiary lists animals referenced in the composer's music and Gondola tells the story of the boat's evolution in form and use (even though nobody knows for sure the origins of the name). And Venetian Curiosities, like Donna Leon's novels (especially By Its Cover), makes a lovely Venice-inspired gift regarding popular culture.
As someone wrote on Amazon, this book+CD combo is a curiosity in itself. Not enough of a book, I'd say, but certainly interesting and nice as a Venice-inspired gift.