Excitement would then give way to contemplation as cantors sang half-improvised polyphonies, pulled from the depths of time, and a composition in keeping with the tastes of the day, illustrating the Baroque art of the bel canto.

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This is also the route taken by this programme, crowned by the wonderful Nisi Dominus by Vivaldi, made famous by our countertenors but probably written for a young female pupil at the Ospedale della Pietà – here performed by the brilliant Eva Zaïcik, a prize-winner at 2018 year’s Voix Nouvelles classical singing competition, the Victoires de la musique and the Queen Elisabeth competition. It is an encounter between the holy masterwork of the red-headed priest, the repertoire of the scuole grandi decorated by Tiepolo and Tintoretto, and that of the grandiose St Mark’s basilica.