Concerts at St. Agnes de Agone, Rome

​I went to two  concerts during the week, both in the same place, the church of St. Agnes of Agone in the Piazza Navona. The concert tickets included tours of the church, it was interesting to hear 2 different guides talking about the history, learnt twice as much! The church was owned by the Pamphili family, and when one of them became pope, it became his private church, a retreat from the Vatican. Although not as splendid as St. Peter's, there is beautiful sculpture work by Bernini and Borromini  throughout, as well as paintings. There is a shrine to St. Cecilia, patron saint of Music. The concerts were held in the Sacristy, not generally open to the public except for smaller concerts, it has perfect acoustics, bringing out glorious sounds from the lower strings, viola, cello, bass, and warm tones from the violins. The first concert featured music from the 18th to the 20th centuries - Piccinni, Vivaldi, Rossini and Respighi. I especially complimented the violist on his beautiful playing of the solo in the Respighi Passacalia. The cellist and bass were no slouches either. In fact the whole ensemble was excellent, great tempos and easy interactions between the players. A really fine concert.

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St. Cecilia

Two days later I returned to the church to hear a vocal quartet with Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque instruments. Another marvelous ensemble. The first half of the concert was in the Sacristy, the second half in the Sanctuary, also with great acoustics. I'd love to hear the Verdi Requiem in there.