‘Judith triumphant over the barbarians of Holofernes’ is the only survivor of the four oratorios that Vivaldi is known to have composed. The work was commissioned to celebrate the victory of the Republic of Venice over the Turks during the siege of Corfu. All characters, male and female, are interpreted by women (originally the singers of the Ospedale della Pieta in Venice). Although the rest of the oratorio survives completely intact, the overture has been lost and Jordi Savall has selected two existing concertos as introduction, of which the key, mode and no doubt date of composition coincide most closely with the subject of the oratorio.

The oratorio Juditha triumphans marks the climax of Vivaldi’s vocal production. The great beauty of its arias and choral parts, the compact dramatic quality of its recitatives and the richness of instrumentation all single it out as one of the most intense and fascinating examples of the genre.

Lavishly illustrated booklet containing the full libretto translated in six languages.

Vivaldi: Concerto in D major RV562
Vivaldi: Juditha Triumphans, RV644

Marianne Beate Kielland (Judith), Rachel Redmond (Vagaus), Marina de Liso (Holopherne), Lucia Martin-Carton (Abra), Kristin Mulders (Ozias)

La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall