‘We have lots of things to discover in these works that we thought we knew,’ says an enthusiastic Hervé Niquet. ‘We propose a version that is never heard. It’s the original version, the one that Vivaldi had written for the Ospedale in Venice.’

The Ospedale della Pietà is the orphanage where Vivaldi was hired in 1703 as a violin teacher then later, maestro de’ concerti. Being a girls’ orphanage, the original version of the Gloria was written for two women’s choirs and two small orchestras, forces that could take their place in the organ loft of the establishment’s church.

Afterwards, to make some money, he created a version for four mixed voices,’ relates Hervé Niquet. It is this version, with tenors and basses, that is well known.

In the original version, ‘with the tenor lines sung by the sopranos, the melodic line is completely different. We don’t recognize it. And the solos sung in chapel by the six altos together, sounds completely different. In this version, there is fantastic work on the women’s voices. We have been performing this on tour for four years, and there is no habit, no routine. Every reprise, every «refresher» is absolutely fascinating. A nice feeling, nice sentiments, this is jubilant music. Vivaldi is, after all, a very good composer...’ (Source: Ouest France)