A Garden of Earthly Delights (Cantatas)

Marco Marazzoli was a composer, harpist, and singer, and as such moved in the highest circles of the clergy. This was certainly not only due to his own priesthood, but above all to the extraordinary quality of his creations. He was born around 1602 in Parma and died in Rome in 1662. He was successful with large-scale works and in the field of chamber music cantatas. Towards the end of his life, he composed a series of experimental vocal works for six voices and a small instrumental ensemble that even satisfied the demands of Christ's representative on earth. After all, in these miniature dramas, the composer and his poets celebrated the Pope as a man of peace, through whose mediation the Franco-Spanish War had ended in 1659. This recognition can still be felt today.