Musicians of the Academy of Santa Cecilia gave an inaugural concert on 24th May 1889 in the Palazzo Doria Pamphili Palestrina room, Piazza Navona, Rome. The concert was promoted by the Company Musicale Romana, and the programme consisted of Italian music from 17th to 19th century.
The ensemble performed on period instruments, six of which were later acquired for the collection of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, where they still appear today. All the musicians wore a jewelled daisy in tribute to the Queen of Italy, Margherita di Savoia, who was present at the concert.
The ensemble's director, Alessandro Orsini, stands far left, and Giuseppe Branzoli, seated in the foreground, holds a mandolone. The other instruments in the collection are, from left to right: a harp guitar that one of the musicians in the background rests on the harpsichord; a rebec held by the young musician behind Branzoli; a violin made by Carolus Helmer in Prague in 1814; the cello labelled Francesco Framonti, 1688, and a viola da braccio built in Venice by Johannes Marcus Grapello, which can just be seen in the hands of the musician behind the cellist.
With the exception of the Helmer violin, these instruments were either donated or purchased in 1895, the year of the Museum's foundation.
The ensemble performed on period instruments, six of which were later acquired for the collection of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, where they still appear today. All the musicians wore a jewelled daisy in tribute to the Queen of Italy, Margherita di Savoia, who was present at the concert.
The ensemble's director, Alessandro Orsini, stands far left, and Giuseppe Branzoli, seated in the foreground, holds a mandolone. The other instruments in the collection are, from left to right: a harp guitar that one of the musicians in the background rests on the harpsichord; a rebec held by the young musician behind Branzoli; a violin made by Carolus Helmer in Prague in 1814; the cello labelled Francesco Framonti, 1688, and a viola da braccio built in Venice by Johannes Marcus Grapello, which can just be seen in the hands of the musician behind the cellist.
With the exception of the Helmer violin, these instruments were either donated or purchased in 1895, the year of the Museum's foundation.
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