Marco Longhini and his Delitiae Musicae present here a pioneering Venetian Vespers in the generation before the Gabrielis. This pre-McCreesh repertoire does not require modern reconstruction: Adrian Willaert – the first truly eminent maestro di cappella of St Mark’s – published this Christmas service himself in 1555. A functional but stirring antecedent to Monteverdi’s famous work, this performance conveys the enterprise and colour of current Italian period performance.'