Musica Antica Rotherhithe’s La Decima Musa was an evening in which scholarship and performance illuminated one another. Devoted to cantatas and operatic extracts written for Venice’s public theatres in the 1650s — many unheard for over 350 years — the programme felt less like revival and more like rediscovery. In the resonant intimacy of New College Chapel, this reconstructed sound world emerged with striking immediacy.
Drawing on surviving Venetian theatre payment records, the ensemble recreated a mid-seventeenth-century theatre band: two violins (Andrew Taheny and Sophia Mücke), bass viol (Harry Buckoke), three theorbos (Kristiina Watt, Jonatan Bougt, Peter Martin), harpsichord (Luke Mitchell) and pentagonal virginal (Oliver Doyle). The sonority was distinctive and persuasive. The three theorbos lent rhythmic vitality and harmonic depth, while the alternation between harpsichord and virginal subtly enriched the continuo palette.
The programme opened with Cavalli’s cantata 'Se la giù negl’abissi', immediately establishing a refined rhetorical approach. Mezzo Camilla Seale shaped the declamation with poise, her warm yet focused tone allowing the Italian text to guide phrasing. Cadential descents were delicately tapered, and the continuo responded with alert harmonic shading.
From Orimonte (1650), 'Torindo, ove s’invia' introduced countertenor Tristram Cooke, whose clear, flexible voice brought immediacy to Cavalli’s speech-like writing. His recitative was crisply articulated yet fluid, and the dialogue with the theorbo continuo captured the conversational vitality of Venetian theatre.
Cavalli’s later extracts revealed increasing lyricism. In 'Dolce Frode' from Eritrea (1652), Seale’s cantabile line unfolded with unforced elegance, while 'Menfi, mia patria' from Statira (1656) deepened the emotional tone, the violins shaping suspensions with expressive unanimity. A highlight came with 'Ahi questo è il fine amaro' from Erismena (1655), where Seale’s restrained ornamentation and finely controlled pianissimi allowed the lament’s bitterness to resonate fully. Buckoke’s bass viol grounded the chromatic lines with dark, resonant weight.
Barbara Strozzi’s Eraclito Amoroso (1651) formed the emotional centre of the programme. Seale navigated its daring harmonic suspensions and abrupt shifts of affect with impressive control. Her repeated invocations of weeping were shaped with subtle dynamic gradation, deeply affecting without excess. The slightly sharper timbre of the pentagonal virginal heightened moments of tension, adding colour to the continuo texture.
Excerpts from Francesco Lucio’s Medoro (1658) introduced a lighter theatrical spirit. In 'Donne belle e vezzose', Cooke displayed agility and charm, buoyed by animated violin interjections. By contrast, 'Medoro, e dove sei' revealed a more introspective quality, Cooke sustaining the melodic line with elegant poise over delicately responsive theorbo accompaniment.
The programme concluded with two arias from Pietro Andrea Ziani’s Le Fortune di Rodope e Damira (1657). 'Rodope, dove sei' balanced declamatory clarity with lyrical expansion, while in 'Marmi spietati'. Seale darkened her timbre to compelling effect, conveying resolve and intensity without sacrificing warmth. The ensemble matched her focus, allowing cadences to settle naturally into the chapel’s acoustic.
Throughout the evening, the reconstructed Venetian band proved revelatory. The richness of three theorbos, the interplay of keyboards, and the finely blended violins created a texture at once transparent and opulent. Balance was exemplary, ensuring textual clarity alongside harmonic depth.
By juxtaposing Cavalli’s theatrical mastery with the expressive daring of Strozzi and the rarer voices of Lucio and Ziani, Musica Antica Rotherhithe illuminated the vitality of Venice’s operatic culture in the 1650s. Far from archival curiosities, these works emerged as vivid, immediate and dramatically persuasive — a golden age convincingly restored.