The number of pieces written for Holy Week is vast. But you will hardly encounter such a unique treatment of fundamental Christian faith as in the Rappresentazione sacra al Santissimo Sepolcro, which was composed at the Viennese imperial court in the mid-17th century. It is a staged presentation of the events at Christ's tomb that was either composed by His Majesty Leopold I himself (from 1660) or by one of his court conductors. This recording presents the Sepolcro of 1667, which was set to music by a top Italian star - the Franciscan Antonio Cesti (1623-1669). The new imperial maestro di capella creates a world where allegorical figures representing nature and it's four elements mourn the sacred sacrifice. The waters drizzle down, the winds blow and the flames blaze - this master of opera cannot deny his true nature.
