The Red Priest: Don Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi: the lost manuscript.

Who would have believed it? While taking an inventory of books at a library in the German city of Dresden, a musical masterpiece was accidentally discovered from one of history's most famous musical personalities.

This work, which had been attributed to another composer for around 200 years, forms the starting point for a musical biography of the maestro Don Antonio Vivaldi. Alongside the world premiere of this piece, a setting of Psalm 110 Dixit Dominus, RV 807, in Dresden's cathedral, the film also presents a colourful recreation of Vivaldi's life and work. From his birth in Venice, the film follows the life of the composer to Dresden and Leipzig and finally Vienna.

Renowned Vivaldi experts, such as Professor Peter Ryom, reveal fascinating background information about the pieces. Well known interpreters of Vivaldi, such as the virtuoso Giuliano Carmignola and the Venice Baroque Orchestra round out this "rediscovery" of the maestro with marvellous performances, including a never before recorded violin concerto.