Above: Venice, Italy. Three hundred and fifty years ago, on January 14, 1676, Venice mourned the death of Francesco Cavalli, the eleventh maestro di cappella—that is, the director of music—of St. Mark’s and one of the most influential figures of the Baroque musical period. Born in 1602 in Crema, near Cremona, Cavalli—christened Pier Francesco Caletti-Bruni—was immersed in music from an…
