Customer Reviews

Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'd give it one more than my Texan friend above, but not five purely because I think that Gardiner's later version for Archiv, recorded in San Marco, Venice, knocks spots off every other version I've ever heard, and that's a lot. This is a modern instrument version, but it captures the magic of the work, a spectacular tour-de-force which bridges between the Renaissance and Baroque musical worlds. Its main glory is the choral singing which, with the blaze of Philip Jones's brass in the big numbers, is goosebump-raising. If you like your Vespers magnificent rather than devotional, this version is unmissable at this price.

... but he's not omnipotent or infallible. And even in 1974, when this performance was recorded, he had the resources to do better. This is easily the worst, most over-conducted, most misinterpreted recording of the Vespro della Beata Vergine ever offered to the public by any conductor with "historical performance" credibility. If it were the first Gardiner I'd ever heard, I assure you I'd never give the man a second chance.

What's so bad about it? As I said, it's bizarrely over-conducted, with arbitrary and inconsequential changes of tempo and dynamic whenever John Eliot's baton twitched. The chorus is rough and bellowy. The soloists -especially the outside voices, soprano and baritone - sound as if they're singing through a kazoo at times, or as if an 'ugly filter' had been placed over their microphones. The sopranos and tenors have gross tuning problems often enough to substantiate the critics of 'early music' who say we have insufficient training... and yet these singers, some of them at least, are fairly reputable opera stars. The orchestra is murky, loud, undependable in tuning, and not even authentic in instrumentation! If a large state university, or even a medium-sized Lutheran college in upper Minnesota, staged a performance of the Vespers, I'd expect a more musical event than this.

Besides, the recording quality is dreadful. John Eliot would do his reputation a favor by pulling this canine CD off the market. Do notice, please, that Gardiner issued another performance of the Vespers, with entirely different forces, in 1990; nothing I say in this review is pertinent to that performance.

This recording only conveys the "loud drama" of Monteverdi's Vespers, which it is soley not. There is not one ounce of spirituality in this recording whatsoever! Not only that but, the recording is marked with blocky chunks which are heavily noticible (as cuts)...there is no sense of fluidity or flow at all. Also, there is no libretto included.

I wouldn't recommend this set of the Vespers to anyone starting out and wanting to understand them. I would recommend Gardiner's second recording in it's stead as it is imbued with spiritual elements.

I've heard that Andrew Parrot's version is the "one" to get, though I've not heard it yet.

Vespro della beata vergine, a very stirring composition, was written by Monteverdi and performed in St.Marks Cathedral, Venice in the late 16th century. Claudio Monteverdi had just crossed over into Chorale, mass and religious music to try to win over the favors of the Pope. His opera works, as stunning as they were, were not paying his bills and he had a family to support. Thus his switch to sacred music may have had political dynamics.

It is important to keep in mind that this was Monteverdi's first serious full-length religious-based compositional endeavour after his opera works (such as L'Orfeo), and therefore carries with it some of the more dramatic arias and robust tenor voices inherent to opera. In this particular SV206 recording, that influence is very strong, and while it might take a bit of the subtlety out of the music, it adds an incredible amount of fortitude, vitality, and resolve. But don't be mistaken, this recording still has the subtle nuances crucial to the works. For a truly supple example of the composition, check out the version by Andrew Parrott and the Taverner Consort. It's quite impressive.

On this SV206 issue, overall the strong as well as the precious operatic voices ring through and evoke that first golden morning 500 yeras ago in St. Marks cathedral, Venice, when the great composer conducted a vast chorus and orchestra before the highest of Italian religious and secular powers, trying to prove to them that he had full mastery of sacred music. This recording evokes an era of glorious faith, but also a time when minds were surrounded by the darkness of unkown horizons and a hierarchological universe.

...Beyond the Venice quais, with their great merchant sailing vessels unloading treasures and preparing for new voyages, the horizons of the world were new and enigmatic, and as this chorus floated out from the cathedral square, the voyagers carried it in their hearts and minds as the promise of an ordered universe.

This recording was made in 1974, it is early Gardiner and is performed in the traditional (i.e. non-period instrument) style. If you prefer full voice singing with vibrato, and trumpets and trombones to sackbuts and cornetts, this is the only game in town. Comparing this with Gardiner's later recording on DG or with Parrott's is futile, as there is no comparison to make. They represent completely different performing traditions and all three of them are excellent in their way - it comes down to a matter of taste.

This is the best performance of this piece we are ever likely to get on modern instruments. It is not heavy handed or Romantic, yet conveys the full grandeur of the piece. The Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble provides weight and force not found in early instrument performances - Parrott's in particular. The analog Decca recording is typical of the mid-seventies. It is not clinically clear like a digital recording, but spacious and warm.

If you like other 60's and 70's baroque performances on modern instruments (e.g. I Musici's Vivaldi, Karl Richer's Bach) you will like this. If you don't, you are virtually guaranteed to dislike it.

This performance lacks all the subtlety required for this beautiful work. The "operatic" soloists' performances are overblown, making this performance heavy and plodding.

A truly remarkable performance is the one by Andrew Parrott and the Taverner Consort.

For the uninitiated-This is one of the greatest choral masterpieces ever created-A MUST HAVE! Gardiner's "modern instrument" interpretation is a spectacularly,theatrical experience.Monteverdi, himself,ever the master showman,would have concurred.This performance will leave you awestruck.(My husband,who shrinks at the sound of my "monk music" upon hearing this,was converted) Absolutely Rapturous!

At the bargain price this is perhaps a good buy, and there are those who are fond of this version. It is clear, and well sung and played. For myself, I feel that it has difficulty getting off the ground. The recorded sound is excellent.