Justine Rapaccioli: On Venice, Armenian Music and Interpreting Tradition

You are the first woman to hold the post of Deputy Conductor of the historic Cappella Marciana in Venice in the choir’s 700-year history. You work within one of Europe’s most remarkable musical traditions, while also being deeply involved in contemporary music. How do you balance these two worlds—the preservation of a great historical heritage and the search for new musical languages?

One of my first thoughts when I was appointed deputy conductor was that it was all very well being the first woman to hold the post, but I did not want to be the first deputy conductor who had never written anything for the choir! The idea of adding my contribution to the repertoire of the choir — which is immense and includes works by some very illustrious figures — Adrian Willaert, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi, to name but a few — was both a daunting and challenging prospect. Also, there were some practical considerations to be made. The choir has to perform an entirely different programme of works each Sunday, therefore any new work must not be so technically demanding that it requires hours and hours of rehearsal time, as that time is simply not available. Also, the music serves a liturgical and spiritual purpose. It is a vessel, as it were, towards the divine, and should aid rather than hinder this journey. When I first set out to write for the choir, I was not searching for a new musical language per se. I was (and still am) channeling my response to the extraordinary acoustic space which is the basilica and everything that I have absorbed in the course of my work there, into a personal response. My aim has always been to create something which is both meaningful in terms of the text I am setting to music, and to the listener. My musical language is not new. It’s just personal.

You are the founder and conductor of Edesse Ensemble. Why Edesse? Does it have any connection to your Armenian ancestors?

My maternal grandparents were Armenian and the Edesse connection stems from my grandfather’s family. He was born in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, where his family had lived for many generations, but it’s believed his ancestors hailed from the ancient city of Edessa. My grandfather had an uncle who was awarded a scholarship to study piano at the Paris Conservatoire at the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately, all contact was eventually lost with this relative, but my grandfather was told that he established himself as a successful musician and performed under the name Gaspard Edesse (Edesse being the French for Edessa). When I founded my ensemble and was searching for a name, I decided to call it Edesse, both in recognition of my Armenian ancestry and my grandfather’s musician uncle.

Do you think that one day it might be possible that Cappella Marciana will also perform Armenian sacred music?

It already has! This is largely due to the presence of the Mekhitarist Congregation on the Island of San Lazzaro in the Venetian lagoon. In October 1977, for example, as part of the commemorative events organized by the Congregation to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Mekhitar of Sebaste, the Cappella Marciana performed a programme of sacred and secular music by Komitas, Yekmalian, Mekhitar and Ganachian  at the Doge’s Palace. The choir at that time was conducted by Don Alfredo Bravi, who himself made a four-voice arrangement of Mekhitar’s Hymn to St. Anthony. More recently, in December 2011, the choir performed a program of Armenian sacred music in St. Mark’s Basilica. This concert was organized as one of the events to mark the 500th anniversary of the printing of the first book in Armenian in Venice. I had the honor of conducting that performance. I might add that the choir has also performed two of my works on medieval Armenian texts during the Sunday mass — a setting of the hymn Srbouhi Mariam sapor voski (Holy Mary, Golden Jar”) by first Armenian female poet, Sahakdukht Syunetsi for four voices, and a setting of Arakel Syunetsi’s mystical poem Ar Jshmarit Baghdzalin Kristos (To the True Desirable Christ) for eight voices and cello. I don’t know whether they can be considered Armenian music, but it was important to me, in recognition of my Armenian heritage, to bring the Armenian word into St. Mark’s in my own personal way.