Masses

The name of Giovanni Rovetta (ca. 1596–1668) is very familiar to scholars and enthusiasts of North Italian music of the seventeenth century. Rovetta is primarily recognized for his close association with Claudio Monteverdi, whom he assisted at San Marco (Venice) from 1627 until Monteverdi's death in 1643 and succeeded as maestro the following year. He continued in that post for the remainder of his life. Rovetta's musical output is significant in many respects, not least in terms of mass settings. The extant corpus of his masses, which includes three published concertato works, a requiem, and possibly three a cappella masses, forms one of the most substantial collections of seventeenth-century Venetian mass music. This edition includes six masses by Rovetta. These settings differ in terms of liturgy and musical style; consequently, they provide an invaluable insight into the varied musical-cum-liturgical requirements for the celebration of Mass in San Marco of the post-Gabrieli/Monteverdi seicento period.