Francesco Cavalli - Vespro della beate Vergine - Concerto Palatino

 

Release Date: November 21, 1995 Label: Harmonia Mundi Number of discs: 2 Composer: Francesco Cavalli Performer: Concerto Palatino cd info/ buy

Review:

Most listeners probably associate Vespers with the name Claudio Monteverdi. But in fact, in Renaissance Italy, liturgical sequences known as Vespers (performed in celebration of the virgin Mary) were second in importance only to the Mass; hence, every composer wrote them. The compositions chosen for this recording came from Musiche Sacre, a large body of liturgical music for virtually every church occasion, published by Cavalli in 1656. While not attempting to reconstruct a full Vespers service, Bruce Dickey and Charles Toet nevertheless arranged the individual musical items in their proper liturgical context, complete with plainchant antiphonas and instrumental canzonas. Following Andrew Parrott's groundbreaking one-voice-per-part (OVPP) recording of Monteverdi's Vespers, Dickey and Toet adopted the same approach: they used only eight singers (exactly enough to fill two SATB choirs), and used cornets to double the voices in ripieno settings. Like Parrott, Dickey and Toet also opted for high tenors, rather than falsettists, in alto lines (although Rodrigo del Pozo integrates falsetto with his natural voice so well that you may think he is a countertenor). The main feature OVPP performances in general is that they force directors to hire the best possible singers. Since every voice is exposed, the quality of each voice is crucial. This recording is no exception. The cast assembled here is superb by any measure, and their musical instincts are impeccable. The instrumentalists are no less distinguished. With all due respect for Paul McCreesh, the Lauda Jerusalem on this recording is better than on McCreesh' award-winning recording of Venetian Vespers. Two psalms for three voices, Laetatus Sum and Ave Maris Stella, are even more stunning.

 

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