Biber - Vespro della Beata Vergine - Wilson, Musica Fiata

 

Release Date: 09/05/2005 Label: Harmonia Mundi Number of discs: 1 Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber Performer: Musica Fiata cd info/ buy

Review:

The Vespro della Beata Vergine is not a single composition. Rather, it's a composite, assembled by Roland Wilson, of two polychoral masterpieces -a Dixit Dominus and a Magnificat, both in 32 parts, plus eleven instrumental and vocal/instrumental works for forces ranging from a Nisi Dominus for one violin and one bass singer to a Lauda for four voices, five strings, cornetto, and three trombones. The smaller works were selected from manuscripts representing quite different periods of Biber's career as a composer. The two large-scale pieces require exactly the same 32 voices and instruments; whether they were intended to be part of a larger work for public performance in the Salzburg Cathedral - comparable to the Missa Salisburgensis - is not known. Wilson has developed a remarkable instrumental ensemble since 1976. His vocal group is a newer formation but the voices and instruments blend exquisitely to yield subtle interpretations of great beauty and shading. The total effect is entrancing, beyond the sum of its fine parts.

 

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