MONTEVERDI Vespro della beata Vergine 1610
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Claudio Monteverdi, Leonardo García Alarcón
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Ambronay
Magazine Review Date: 08/2014
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 87
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: AMY041
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Vespro della Beata Vergine, 'Vespers' |
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Cappella Mediterranea Choeur de Chambre de Namur Claudio Monteverdi, Composer Leonardo García Alarcón, Composer |
Author: Lindsay Kemp
Even so, it is probably not this that will decide listeners on the effectiveness of the performance. For that we have to consider the more fundamental matters of sound, interpretative skill and creative energy, and in all of these Leonardo García Alarcón and his forces score highly. Speeds are for the most part fast, yet never seem over-driven or scrambled – indeed, it is remarkable how effectively Alarcón manages successfully to marry his swift tempi in ‘Deus in adjutorium’, ‘Lauda Jerusalem’ or the ‘Sonata sopra Sancta Maria’ to alert and adroitly delivered rhythmic articulation and a satisfying weight of sound (boosted by an agile trombone department). Yet there are moments of tenderness too, tellingly employed as in the gentle, consolotary ‘Amen’ at the end of ‘Dixit Dominus’, or the ‘Et misericordia’ section of an otherwise purposefully driven Magnificat. The excellently sung solos, too, are islands of intimacy and poise. This is a Vespers that excites by the way it combines the immediacy and clarity of a smaller-scale performance with the sheer sonic thrill of a larger one, all in a pervading atmosphere of heartfelt but unhistrionic expressive urgency.
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
SubscribeGramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.