Neither composer nor performers need any introduction to enthusiasts for the early baroque, an area which Cantus Colln have made very much their own. And if Rovetta’s music never quite achieves the quality of that of Monteverdi – to whom he became assistant at St Mark’s in Venice in 1626 – there is no doubt that his voice can at times take on a quite individual tone. Don’t be fooled, though, by the subtitle of this disc, ‘Venetian Solemn Vespers for the Birth of Louis XIV’. The contemporary account of the celebration in San Giorgio Maggiore mentions only a solemn Mass, a Te Deum and other random pieces, and although Rovetta’s Messa e salmi concertati of 1639 is dedicated to the French King there is no reason to believe that its contents were performed then.
The psalms themselves are substantial pieces in the ceremonial manner, and it is interesting to see Rovetta giving them structural coherence through ritornello and other repetition techniques. In this sense these settings are quite different from those of 1626; no doubt here, as elsewhere, the influence of Monteverdi was critical. This is music to which the singers of Cantus Colln are ideally suited; the sense of ensemble is near-perfect, the tone is firm and bright, and a well-balanced overall sound is nicely caught in a sympathetically warm acoustic. There is some spectacular instrumental playing in evidence (most obviously but not exclusively in the sonatas by Rovetta’s contemporary Buonamente), as well as some controlled and effective vocal ornamention, particularly in the lower voices. The result is easy on the ear – a delight