Monteverdi Vespers of St John the Baptist
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Natale Bazzini, Dario Castello, Claudio Monteverdi, Anonymous, Alessandro Grandi, Giovanni Gabrieli
Label: Philips
Magazine Review Date: 4/1989
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 422 074-4PH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Beatus vir (6vv, instr) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Confitebor tibi, Domine (3vv, 5vv chorus) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Dixit Dominus I (8vv, 2 vns, 4 vas) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Laudate Dominum (5vv, 4vv chorus, instr) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius (1v) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Laudate pueri (5vv, 2 vns) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Magnificat (8vv, 2 vns, 4 vas) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Ut queant laxis (2vv, 2 vns) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Toccata |
Giovanni Gabrieli, Composer
Bob van Asperen, Organ Giovanni Gabrieli, Composer |
| Motets, Book 4, Movement: Hic est precursor (2vv) |
Alessandro Grandi, Composer
Alessandro Grandi, Composer Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano |
| Sonate concertate in stil moderno, Movement: Sonata quinta |
Dario Castello, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Dario Castello, Composer Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor |
| Sonate concertate in stil moderno, Movement: Sonata nona |
Dario Castello, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Dario Castello, Composer Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor |
| Angelus Gabriel descendit |
Natale Bazzini, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble David James, Alto Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Natale Bazzini, Composer |
| Gregorian Chant for Feast Days |
Anonymous, Composer
Anonymous, Composer |
Composer or Director: Natale Bazzini, Dario Castello, Claudio Monteverdi, Anonymous, Alessandro Grandi, Giovanni Gabrieli
Label: Philips
Magazine Review Date: 4/1989
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 71
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 422 074-2PH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Beatus vir (6vv, instr) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Confitebor tibi, Domine (3vv, 5vv chorus) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Dixit Dominus I (8vv, 2 vns, 4 vas) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Laudate Dominum (5vv, 4vv chorus, instr) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius (1v) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Laudate pueri (5vv, 2 vns) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Magnificat (8vv, 2 vns, 4 vas) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Selva morale e spirituale, Movement: Ut queant laxis (2vv, 2 vns) |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi, Composer David James, Alto Evelyn Tubb, Soprano Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Harry van der Kamp, Bass Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michael Chance, Alto Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Netherlands Chamber Choir |
| Toccata |
Giovanni Gabrieli, Composer
Bob van Asperen, Organ Giovanni Gabrieli, Composer |
| Motets, Book 4, Movement: Hic est precursor (2vv) |
Alessandro Grandi, Composer
Alessandro Grandi, Composer Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Guillemette Laurens, Mezzo soprano Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano |
| Sonate concertate in stil moderno, Movement: Sonata quinta |
Dario Castello, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Dario Castello, Composer Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor |
| Sonate concertate in stil moderno, Movement: Sonata nona |
Dario Castello, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble Dario Castello, Composer Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor |
| Angelus Gabriel descendit |
Natale Bazzini, Composer
Amsterdam Monteverdi Ensemble David James, Alto Gustav Leonhardt, Conductor Jelle Draijer, Bass John Elwes, Tenor Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Tenor Mieke van der Sluis, Soprano Natale Bazzini, Composer |
| Gregorian Chant for Feast Days |
Anonymous, Composer
Anonymous, Composer |
Author: Iain Fenlon
From Monteverdi to Handel, and beyond, liturgical reconstruction is in vogue and these two reconstructions of Vespers settings are the latest to join the list. The starting point for the Vespers of St John the Baptist, assembled by the Dutch musicologist Professor Frits Noske from a variety of plainchants, instrumental music and vocal polyphony, is a note in the diary of Constantijn Huygens who records that in Venice, on June 24th, 1620 ''which is the feast of St John the Baptist, I was taken to Vespers... where I heard the most accomplished music I think I shall ever hear in my life. The very famous Claudio di Monteverdi, maestro di cappella at St Mark's, whose composition it was, led and also directed it.'' As Noske readily admits, it is impossible to know what precisely Huygens heard in 1620, even assuming that all the music has survived; the Vespers of St John the Baptist takes his remarks as a pretext for putting together a hypothetical Venetian Vespers service of the time, mostly consisting of music by Monteverdi, but also including works by Alessandro Grandi and Giovanni Gabrieli as well as that of lesser-known composers.
The result is very attractive. Gustav Leonhardt has gathered together an impressive array of performers and, as one would expect from such an experienced Monteverdian, the general interpretational stance is characterized by a vitality and freshness which go to the heart of the style. The choral sound is well balanced and fairly light on its feet, and the soloists are well matched; I particularly enjoyed the pairing of Mieke van der Sluis and Guillemette Laurens in Grandi's little-known motet Hic est praecursor dilectus, and that of Evelyn Tubb and John Elwes in Monteverdi'sConfitebor tibi. Huygens's diary notes the instrumentalists that he heard in 1620, and Noske and Leonhardt have done their best to use them; certainly there is some fine playing, notably from Bruce Dickey in Dario Castello's Sonata No. 5, and the continuo groupings, so often a pitfall, are sensible and effective. The real point here is that this record has brought together some extremely good music which has not been recorded previously, including a number of pieces from Monteverdi's late collection the Selva morale e spirituale. Natale Bazzino's Angelus Gabriel descendit, a rather insipid agglomeration of conventional formulas, is among the weaker pieces, and so too is Monteverdi's Beatus vir, an uninspired setting which receives a somewhat pedestrian reading. But at its best, as in the performances of Monteverdi's better-known psalms Laudate pueri and Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, this record represents Leonhardt at his best.
The new record by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen is again not of some long-lost work by Monteverdi, but rather the Vespro della Beata Vergine of 1610, dressed up in a new theory to explain some of its liturgical pecularities and original function, and supplied with a new title to match. In musical terms this latest explanation involves the addition of plainchants and instrumental sonatas by Amigone to Monteverdi's score, and the alteration of the text of Monteverdi's Sonata to ''Sancta Barbara ora pro nobis''. The theory, as Graham Dixon explains in the accompanying booklet, is based on the observation (originally made some 20 years ago by the eminent Danish musicologist Knud Jeppesen), that the texts of the psalms in the Vespers are all to be found in the liturgy for the ducal basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua, the private chapel of the Gonzaga family by whom Monteverdi was employed at the time that the piece was written. Moreover, all five psalms occur at second vespers in the Santa Barbara liturgy for the major feast-day of Santa Barbara herself, thus leading to the suggestion that the Vespers were originally written for the annual celebration of that occasion. That idea has some obvious attractions, but there is little historical evidence to support it and some of the other peculiarities of the Vespers are still left unexplained. Certainly it should be borne in mind that Monteverdi was employed at the court rather than at the basilica, that not a note of his music is recorded in the seventeenth-century inventories of the Santa Barbara library, and that none of his music is in the library itself which has survived virtually intact. This is not the place to argue against the hypothesis in detail, but the fundamental fact remains that the question of liturgical unity in the Vespers of 1610 only becomes a problem if it is assumed that the composer intended the complete sequence of pieces to be performed as a unit. What seems far more likely is that the whole Vespers publication (including the Missa In Illo Tempore) was an assemblage, by a dissatisfied composer with an eye to employment elsewhere, of some of his church music composed during his 20 years in Gonzaga service. In those circumstances it would not be surprising if texts suitable for the Santa Barbara liturgy were among them.
These considerations apart, the record has some attractive features. In the psalms Harry Christophers is good on speeds, and light-handed over matters of orchestration, both to good effect. Some of them can sound a little incoherent as yet another section of fresh musical material unfolds, but by intelligent choice of speed and a fairly forceful rhythmic style a sense of formal shape and balance is preserved. The question of instrumentation is largely in the hands of the interpreter since the original parts leave so much to choice, but what Christophers has done is inventive and sensitive, so that textures are not muddied (though it is unnecessary to add extra instruments to Laudate pueri where Monteverdi is quite explicit about the fact that only the organ should play).
In general the choral sound is fluid and expansive, but the group consists of 22 performers and I often found myself preferring the greater clarity produced by Andrew Parrott's sparer instrumentation and widespread use of solo voices on his EMI recording.
Christophers does not follow current thinking by transposing ''Lauda Jerusalem'' and the Magnificat down a fourth, on the grounds that unless the entire work is performed at a higher basic pitch (a tone higher would conform with early seventeenth-century Italian practice) then ''the character of some parts of these movements is impaired''. There is truth in that (some of the lower passages are almost comic in Parrott's transposed version), but the price here, exacted in terms of some extremely tentative and occasionally out-of-tune cornett playing, is quite high. In other respects the Magnificat is one of the most successful movements; there is some fine virtuosic violin playing, the bass singing at ''Qui fecit mihi'' is powerfully effective, and the choir enters with a magical delivery at ''Et misericordia''. The soprano passage-work at ''Suscepit Israel'' is something of a black spot, but the final doxology is brilliant and exhilarating.
Despite many good things in this recording, ultimately there is too much variability for it to displace either Parrott or Corboz (Erato) in my affections. This is particularly true of the slow movements. All the performers are certainly highly accomplished, but ''Pulchra es'' sounds terribly uncommitted, almost casual, while ''Nigra sum'' lacks the necessary seductive passion at its opening, picks up later, but is then spoilt by unnecessary improvised ornamentation which obscures the simple eloquence of Monteverdi's melodic line. Best of all is ''Duo Seraphim'' where the voices are well matched, the ornaments are convincingly delivered and the full force of the rhetoric is exquisitely exploited, every detail and nuance explored. For moments like these I shall be returning time and again to this record of what I will continue to call, as did the composer, theVespro della Beata Vergine.'
The result is very attractive. Gustav Leonhardt has gathered together an impressive array of performers and, as one would expect from such an experienced Monteverdian, the general interpretational stance is characterized by a vitality and freshness which go to the heart of the style. The choral sound is well balanced and fairly light on its feet, and the soloists are well matched; I particularly enjoyed the pairing of Mieke van der Sluis and Guillemette Laurens in Grandi's little-known motet Hic est praecursor dilectus, and that of Evelyn Tubb and John Elwes in Monteverdi's
The new record by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen is again not of some long-lost work by Monteverdi, but rather the Vespro della Beata Vergine of 1610, dressed up in a new theory to explain some of its liturgical pecularities and original function, and supplied with a new title to match. In musical terms this latest explanation involves the addition of plainchants and instrumental sonatas by Amigone to Monteverdi's score, and the alteration of the text of Monteverdi's Sonata to ''Sancta Barbara ora pro nobis''. The theory, as Graham Dixon explains in the accompanying booklet, is based on the observation (originally made some 20 years ago by the eminent Danish musicologist Knud Jeppesen), that the texts of the psalms in the Vespers are all to be found in the liturgy for the ducal basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua, the private chapel of the Gonzaga family by whom Monteverdi was employed at the time that the piece was written. Moreover, all five psalms occur at second vespers in the Santa Barbara liturgy for the major feast-day of Santa Barbara herself, thus leading to the suggestion that the Vespers were originally written for the annual celebration of that occasion. That idea has some obvious attractions, but there is little historical evidence to support it and some of the other peculiarities of the Vespers are still left unexplained. Certainly it should be borne in mind that Monteverdi was employed at the court rather than at the basilica, that not a note of his music is recorded in the seventeenth-century inventories of the Santa Barbara library, and that none of his music is in the library itself which has survived virtually intact. This is not the place to argue against the hypothesis in detail, but the fundamental fact remains that the question of liturgical unity in the Vespers of 1610 only becomes a problem if it is assumed that the composer intended the complete sequence of pieces to be performed as a unit. What seems far more likely is that the whole Vespers publication (including the Missa In Illo Tempore) was an assemblage, by a dissatisfied composer with an eye to employment elsewhere, of some of his church music composed during his 20 years in Gonzaga service. In those circumstances it would not be surprising if texts suitable for the Santa Barbara liturgy were among them.
These considerations apart, the record has some attractive features. In the psalms Harry Christophers is good on speeds, and light-handed over matters of orchestration, both to good effect. Some of them can sound a little incoherent as yet another section of fresh musical material unfolds, but by intelligent choice of speed and a fairly forceful rhythmic style a sense of formal shape and balance is preserved. The question of instrumentation is largely in the hands of the interpreter since the original parts leave so much to choice, but what Christophers has done is inventive and sensitive, so that textures are not muddied (though it is unnecessary to add extra instruments to Laudate pueri where Monteverdi is quite explicit about the fact that only the organ should play).
In general the choral sound is fluid and expansive, but the group consists of 22 performers and I often found myself preferring the greater clarity produced by Andrew Parrott's sparer instrumentation and widespread use of solo voices on his EMI recording.
Christophers does not follow current thinking by transposing ''Lauda Jerusalem'' and the Magnificat down a fourth, on the grounds that unless the entire work is performed at a higher basic pitch (a tone higher would conform with early seventeenth-century Italian practice) then ''the character of some parts of these movements is impaired''. There is truth in that (some of the lower passages are almost comic in Parrott's transposed version), but the price here, exacted in terms of some extremely tentative and occasionally out-of-tune cornett playing, is quite high. In other respects the Magnificat is one of the most successful movements; there is some fine virtuosic violin playing, the bass singing at ''Qui fecit mihi'' is powerfully effective, and the choir enters with a magical delivery at ''Et misericordia''. The soprano passage-work at ''Suscepit Israel'' is something of a black spot, but the final doxology is brilliant and exhilarating.
Despite many good things in this recording, ultimately there is too much variability for it to displace either Parrott or Corboz (Erato) in my affections. This is particularly true of the slow movements. All the performers are certainly highly accomplished, but ''Pulchra es'' sounds terribly uncommitted, almost casual, while ''Nigra sum'' lacks the necessary seductive passion at its opening, picks up later, but is then spoilt by unnecessary improvised ornamentation which obscures the simple eloquence of Monteverdi's melodic line. Best of all is ''Duo Seraphim'' where the voices are well matched, the ornaments are convincingly delivered and the full force of the rhetoric is exquisitely exploited, every detail and nuance explored. For moments like these I shall be returning time and again to this record of what I will continue to call, as did the composer, the
Monteverdi Vespers of St John the Baptist
Monteverdi Vespers of St John the Baptist
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