The fourth of the Lezioni di musica is dedicated to a masterpiece closely linked to Venice, and more specifically to the Biennale Musica: the Canticum Sacrum ad honorem Sancti Marci nominis, composed by Igor Stravinsky and first performed in the Basilica di San Marco on 13 September 1956. A liturgical vocal piece notwithstanding, there are good reasons to include it in a cycle of lectures on absolute music: Canticum Sacrum is one of the first pieces in which strict serial techniques are applied by Stravinsky, and its overall form is built on a perfect interplay of symmetries. The five movements, which according to many commentators symbolise the five domes of the Basilica, create an elegant arch-form structure where inversion and retrograde have a pivotal role.
Curated by Paola Damiani.
Broadcast live on Rai Radio3.
