Motet Notes

Antonio Lotti: Crucifixus à 8

Antonio Lotti (1667 – 1740) was born in Venice and started singing at St Mark’s in 1687. He later became the organist at St Mark’s,eventually becoming maestro di cappella in 1736 Lotti’s music was influential amongst his contemporaries, and there are surviving manuscripts of his music which were written out by Handel, and Lotti’s music is also believed to have been included in Bach’s library.

The Crucifixus for 8 voices is perhaps Lotti’s best known work, and comes from the Credo in F Major for choir and orchestra (a setting of a movement from a Mass). The vocal lines enter one at a time, building up a richly imitative opening section. The remainder of the piece continues with imitative textures, with suspensions a strong feature of Lotti’s colorful and evolving harmonic language.

~ Ryan Turner