The High Museum of Art will import prized pieces of Italian art next fall in an exhibition of three marble panels that sculptor Luca della Robbia produced for the Florence Cathedral's cantoria in the 1430s.
Depicting children singing and playing music, the reliefs will come to the U.S. for the first time in “Make a Joyful Noise: Renaissance Art and Music From Florence Cathedral,” the High is announcing this week. The exhibit will be on view Oct. 25 to Jan. 11, 2015.
To provide context for these musical history treasures, the High plans an extensive partnership with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The ASO will present a series of organ and choral performances within the exhibit galleries as well as around Atlanta.
Based on the celebratory text of Psalm 150, the panels for the cantoria, originally designed as an organ loft but later used to hold choir singers, were removed from the Florence Cathedral during a 1688 renovation. They eventually made their way to their current home, Florence’s Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.
Recorded music from the pages of historic choir books from the cathedral (three of which will be exhibited, along with a walnut lectern designed to hold them) also will resonate in the galleries. The live and recorded music leads the High to claim that “Make a Joyful Noise” will mark the first time since the 17th century that the panels will be complemented by Renaissance church music as “originally intended.”
“Luca della Robbia’s stunning cantoria was created to be surrounded by music, and we are happy to have the opportunity to return the cantoria to that setting,” High director Michael Shapiro said in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to bring our audiences a multi-sensory experience that celebrates art in its many forms.”
The sculptor, a pioneer of Florentine Renaissance style, was the founder of a family studio that came to be renowned for production of works in enameled terra cotta. The marble panels for Florence Cathedral are believed to have been the first commission for the artist who later worked for the prominent Pazzi and Medici families.
He spent seven years creating the 10 panels, which grew in complexity and are appreciated for the naturalism and nuance with which the children are portrayed. Research continues into the history of the reliefs, which will undergo a conservation process before they go on view in Atlanta.
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