Bertali: Il Pentimento | Harmonia Stellarum

In the late seventeenth century, the imperial court of Vienna developed a distinctly theatrical and opulent way to celebrate Holy Week. Churches across the city featured elaborate replicas of the Holy Sepulchre, which served as atmospheric settings for semi-staged performances of sepolcri, a uniquely Viennese form of oratorio. For the celebrations of 1661, Antonio Bertali created Il Pentimento—a powerful meditation on repentance and grace. The work unfolds through poignant dialogues between allegorical figures, Mary Magdalene, and the Virgin Mary, set against a dark-hued palette of viols, cornettos, and continuo.