‘Nulla in mundo pax sincera’ is a sacred motet (RV630) composed by Antonio Vivaldi in 1735 to an anonymous Latin text. In 18th-century, a motet was defined as a sacred vocal work with a non-litugical Latin verse. The title of this motet can be translated as ‘In this world there is no honest peace’ or ‘There is no true peace in this world without bitterness’. Vivaldi’s motets were intended as show pieces for one of the female musicians of the Figlie di Coro of the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. This piece was created for a soprano of exceptionally high range (from E above middle C to the B a twelfth higher) and is one of the most interesting of Vivaldi’s early motets for the Pietà.
Those four paintings refering to the four parts of ‘Nulla in mundo pax sincera’. The text of this motet reflects in my opinion the world we are living today. But as this motet was written in 1735 and based on an anonymous Latin text, which could even be older, one may ask oneselves whether humankind has made much progress. Food for thought!
