Customer Reviews

Monteverdi: Vespers of the Blessed Virgin

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The Scholars Baroque Ensemble is a small group of British singers and period instrumentalists that records for the inexpensive Naxos label. The SBE's singers (about 12 in number!) furnish both chorus and soloists, which is to say that you will not encounter celebrity vocalists here or in any SBE/Naxos production. Still, this performance of Monteverdi's sublime 1610 Vespers joins other noteworthy Scholars/Naxos recordings of Bach (St. John Passion; Motets), Handel ('Messiah'), and Purcell ('Dido & Aeneas'; 'The Faery Queene') near the top of my list of recommendable budget-priced recordings. As with all its recordings, the SBE provides a chamber-scale performance of music that is often performed as polychoral spectacle by much larger groups. I find the intimacy of the SBE's approach refreshing; others might legitimately prefer a larger sound and gravitate to recordings by the likes of John Eliot Gardner or Nikolaus Harnoncourt. And even if you do prefer a smaller scale performance of the Monteverdi Vespers, direct competition for SBE/Naxos comes from baroque veteran Andrew Parrott on a pair of EMI CDs. Parrott's fine performance is also budget priced, employs star singers (Emma Kirkby, for example) and sounds considerably more polished than the SBE's. Call me perverse, but I rather prefer the Naxos recording anyway. While a bit rough around the edges, the sheer enthusiasm of the SBE is winning. Moreover, Naxos provides a suitably rich and resonant recording acoustic so that, although performed chamber-scale, the grandeur of the music isn't at all slighted. In short, the freshness and astonishing beauty of Monteverdi's glorious music registers throughout. Lovely!

Monteverdi: Vespers of the Blessed Virgin is a recording done by The Scholars Baroque Ensemble on the label. This ensemble in question has so many talented singers that I feel that it is indeed on of the better vocal ensembles that I have ever heard. Being a very devour person the lyrics of Monteverdi truly touch my heart and soul. The has a very special place in my heart and I therefore have to admit that it was a very profound experience to listen to this recording. The book-let is sparse but effective with a very well-written piece by David Van . The picture of the cover is a very beautiful painting of Mary being greeted by the angel. I definitely recommend this recording and give it 5 well-deserved stars.