Ensemble Irini, Giovanni Gabrieli: Post tenebras

Post tenebras (spero lucem) – after darkness, I hope for light – perfectly summarizes what this program of Ensemble Irini aims for: a return to the early days of the Venetian and Byzantine baroque in an unusual, double-choir setup with brass instruments: grand, spatial and deeply spiritual. On one side of the spectrum stands Giovanni Gabrieli, master of multi-choir music at the San Marcobasiliek in Venice. Zijn Sacrae cantiones think in space, with choirs of voices and instruments as building blocks. On the other side sound virtuoso, contemplative chants of Konstantinos van Aghialos and Joasaph van Athos, in which time becomes music and vice versa. Post tenebras marks a new chapter in the path of Irini Ensemble, but their unique sound remained untouched: warm, dark, polymorphic and averse to early music stereotypes.