Woodend Winter Arts Festival 2026

Monteverdi Vespers

With Ensemble Gombert

Monteverdi’s 1610 setting of Vespers is among the greatest works of the Early Baroque. A 400th anniversary performance was given at our Festival in 2010, and it now returns by popular demand. While we tend to associate Monteverdi’s choral writing with Venice, this work was written while he was working in Mantua; but its publication is very likely Monteverdi’s throwing his hat into the ring for the position of maestro di cappella at St Mark’s in Venice, to which he was appointed just three years later.

When: Saturday 6th June 7.30pm & Sunday 7th June, 3.30pm
Where: St Ambrose Church Woodend

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Bach Musical Offering

Musical Offering was the lasting outcome of a visit by Bach to the court of Frederick II of Prussia, subsequently known as Frederick the Great. During the visit the king gave Bach a theme and asked him to improvise upon it. Upon his return home, Bach decided to write a series of movements, made up of two ricercars, ten canons, and a four-movement trio sonata, which he published under the title Musicalisches Opfer, sending a dedicatory copy to Frederick. Of special note is that the instrumentation includes a flute, of which Frederick was a keen player.

When: Sunday 7th June, 1.00pm
Where: St Ambrose Church Woodend

Tickets