It has long been recognized that the Selva morale e spirituale of 1640 is something of a miscellany of works from different periods of Monteverdi's life, written for a variety of different functions both liturgical and otherwise. This recording presents a selection of concertato settings interspersed with canzonas by Monteverdi's little-known contemporary Giovanni Picchi, who was working at the Ca' Grande when the master was at St Mark's. The effect of this alternation is good, largely since the richness and insistent motion of the vocal music are offset by more modest music. However, that the result comes close to one possible contemporary practice, as the insert-note implies, is implausible. That quibble aside, this is a sequence of fresh and lively performances by an ensemble of well-matched voices, attractively bright in the upper register and gloriously resonant in the lower ones.
The larger-scale concertos such as Dixit Dominus and the monumental Magnificat for double chorus are constructed in contrasting sections (the Magnificat presents an almost encyclopaedic conspectus of contemporary style), which in performance can easily lose momentum in the constantly shifting alternations of contrasting textures and speeds. Here that is effectively overcome, largely by sustaining the pace with brisk speeds throughout and an overarching intensity of tone. Above all, the total effect is of an infectious enthusiasm and verve which triumphantly carries the music forward and reduces occasional blemishes of intonation and articulation to insignificance.'