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Monteverdi Vespers
with the Southbank Sinfonia
Price:
£13.50
FULL TRACK LISTING
Monteverdi Vespers of 1610
Disc 1
1.
Dominus ad adiuvandum
(2.05)
2.
Dixit Dominus
(6.54)
3.
Nigra sum
(3.37)
4.
Laudate pueri
(6.39)
5.
Pulchra es
(4.30)
6.
Laetatus sum
(7.21)
7.
Duo seraphim
(6.20)
8.
Nisi Dominus
(4.30)
9.
Audi coelum
(9.21)
Total Timings
(51.20)
Disc 2
1.
Lauda Jerusalem
(3.52)
2.
Sonata
(6.37)
3.
Ave maris stella
(9.13)
4.
Magnificat
(0.36)
5.
Et exultavit
(1.16)
6.
Quia respexit
(1.37)
7.
Quia fecit
(1.17)
8.
Et misericordia
(2.34)
9.
Fecit potentiam
(1.00)
10.
Deposuit
(2.24)
11.
Esurientes
(1.24)
12.
Suscepit
(1.20)
13.
Sicut locutus
(1.00)
14.
Sicut locutus
(2.38)
15.
Sicut erat
(1.56)
Total
(38.46)
REVIEWS
Sometimes the coming together of a group of talented student musicians and a
great work which few of them have performed before can, by generating a
unique sense of discovery, produce very exciting results. This is certainly
the case with Monteverdi: Vespers of 1610 (Signum SIGCD111, rec 2007, 90').
Ralph Allwood's Rodolfus Choir sing with an infectious freshness and
enthusiasm which communicates something of the "shock of the new" surely
created by the first performance of this astonishing compendium of the
latest sacred styles.
The choir's clear, bright tone and springy rhythmic
energy, fully matched by the instrumentalists of the Southern Sinfonia and
English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, give the opening Deus in adjutorium
its essential electrifying effect, and, along with their splendidly precise
chordal declamation and admirable vocal agility, produce compellingly
vigorous and ardent performances of the large-scale psalms and the
Magnificat, with thrilling climaxes and beautifully judged responses to all
Monteverdi's touches of word-painting, which convey both the overwhelming
grandeur and the delicate expressiveness of his music.
Transitions of speed
and style are particularly well managed, so that episodic pieces such as
Dixit Dominus are satisfyingly coherent, and have a real sense of drama.
This meticulous and sensitive attention to detail also characterizes the
motets, whether in the gently caressing Nigra sum, the luxuriantly
languorous Pulchra es, or the quietly meditative Audi coelum, all of which
strike just the right balance between devotional fervour and secular
sensuality. Performances of the Vespers which avoid all the pitfalls
presented by its mixture of styles are rarer than they ought to be; this
one, in its understanding that even when the words are sacred Latin rather
than amorous Italian, they are still the key to unlocking the full
expressive potential of Monteverdi's music, comes as close to doing so as
the most captious critic could possibly wish.
Recordings 
