The Aberdeen Bach Choir welcomed the well-known and internationally acclaimed brass ensemble His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, and the Monteverdi String Band, who joined the choir for an authentic reconstruction of the Second Vespers of Christmas, and six Christmas motets by Giovanni Gabrieli along with Venetian instrumental music from the late sixteenth century. The Vespers included music by four successive Maestri di Cappella at St Mark’s (Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Rosetta and Cavalli), their compositional styles marking the culmination of the high renaissance style and the shift to the idioms of the new Baroque period.
This performance proved very popular and was sold out ten days ahead.