Christmas Concert - Accademia Filarmonica Romana

As part of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana’s season, on Thursday 18 December at 9 p.m., the Teatro Argentina lights up with the festive spirit of its traditional Christmas Concert. Taking centre stage is Concerto Romano, directed by its founder Alessandro Quarta, one of the most esteemed ensembles on the Baroque scene, renowned for its commitment to reviving the often-overlooked treasures of Rome’s musical heritage.

For the final Philharmonic event of 2025 at the Argentina, Quarta has crafted an elegant musical journey weaving together three giants of the Italian Baroque: Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, and Alessandro Scarlatti. Lending her voice to the programme is soprano Carlotta Colombo, a specialist in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire and a frequent guest of leading early-music ensembles in Italy and abroad.

The evening opens with Vivaldi’s motet In furore justissimae irae RV 626, a dazzling work for soprano, strings and continuo: two arias frame a dry recitative, following the familiar da capo structure that invites improvisation, flourishes and virtuosic cadenzas, culminating in a radiant, exuberant Alleluia.

The Christmas atmosphere of Rome then takes shape through one of the most beloved pieces of the Baroque repertoire: Corelli’s Concerto grosso “Fatto per la Notte di Natale”, the eighth of the twelve Concerti grossi published posthumously in 1714, traditionally performed in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican during the Christmas Eve celebrations — already in 1690 in the presence of the pope.

From the same festive spirit emerges Oh di Betlemme altera by Alessandro Scarlatti, a “Pastoral Cantata for the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ”, composed in 1695. It is the first of four Christmas cantatas that the Palermo-born composer presented in the Vatican on 24 December, and stands among the pinnacles of Baroque sacred music. A particularly fitting tribute in the year marking the five-hundredth anniversary of his death.

Carlotta Colombo, soprano
Concerto Romano, ensemble
Alessandro Quarta, conductor

Antonio Vivaldi In furore justissimae irae RV 626
Arcangelo Corelli Concerto grosso “Fatto per la Notte di Natale”
Alessandro Scarlatti Oh di Betlemme altera