If love's sweet passion | Collezioni Comunali d'Arte

On Sunday, May 31, 2026, at 6:30 pm, the Municipal Art Collections host the concert If love's sweet passion.

Concert by the Altabella viol consort, followed by a short guided tour of the Vidonian Gallery led by Silvia Battistini, Curator of the Municipal Art Collections. 
The concert pays tribute to Italian and international composers who, from the early seventeenth century onwards, helped make music a means of expressing human emotions and ‘wonder’.

The programme opens with refined compositions by English authors, marking the crossroads between the flourishing Elizabethan legacy of John Dowland and the Baroque flowering represented by Henry Purcell. As in London, the concept of the ‘public’ also emerged in major Italian cities (the first opera house opened in Venice), and music became an event designed to move audiences emotionally. This idea of representing the ‘affections’ is clearly expressed by Girolamo Frescobaldi, Luigi Rossi and Biagio Marini, whose works perfectly embody the musical sensibility of the period and the distinctly Italian taste. The programme concludes with French composers such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, representing the solemn and refined musical style of the France of Louis XIV.

Founded within the Associazione Musica Interna di Bologna, the Altabella viol consort is an ensemble made up of enthusiasts who have explored the polyphonic repertoire from the Renaissance to the late seventeenth century for many years, collaborating with other artists. Members: Barbara Benvenuti soprano viol; Silvia Guberti tenor viol; Flavia Faggioli bass viol; Stefano Meneghini bass viol; Stefano Fanton flute; Fausto Ghini Baroque guitar; with the collaboration of Marcella Ventura alto.

The concert is part of the programme Baroque Days. The Enchantment of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries between Medicina and the Lands of Bologna, promoted by the Municipality of Medicina together with the I Portici di Medicina Cultural Association.