Est 1923

Monteverdi Tancredi e Clorinda. Ballo delle ingrate

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Claudio Monteverdi

Label: Masterworks

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 59

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: CD44688

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
(Il) Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
(La) Grande Ecurie et La Chambre du Roy
András Laczó, Tenor
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Isabelle Poulenard, Soprano
Jean-Claude Malgoire, Conductor
Philippe Cantor, Tenor
(Il) Ballo delle ingrate Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
(La) Grande Ecurie et La Chambre du Roy
Chorus
Claudio Monteverdi, Composer
Colette Alliot-Lugaz, Soprano
Dominique Visse, Alto
Gregory Reinhart, Bass
Jean-Claude Malgoire, Conductor
The pairing of Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and the Ballo delle ingrate is a logical one. Both works were published in the Eighth Book of Madrigals (1638) and both were intended to be staged on spedfic occasions, though these were different in nature and setting. While they represent the emotional extremes of love and war suggested by the title to this collection, both rely for their impact largely on the rhetorical expressivity of the recitative: projection of the words is paramount therefore. A major difference, however, between the two works lies in Monteverdi's use of his instrumental forces; in the Ballo their primary role is to accompany the dances, but in Combattimento they become integral to the drama, graphically depicting the actions and heightening the emotional force of the sung line.
The instrumental playing of La Grande Ecurie is in many ways perfectly adequate, but it lacks the definition and dynamism of Goebel and Cologne Musica Antiqua's Combattimento on Archiv Produktion, and the rhythmic uplift and melodic shaping of the version of the Ballo by Christie and Les Arts Florissants (Harmonia Mundi). Likewise the singing in the Malgoire version is quite acceptable in most respects, but suffers in comparison with the other versions. Malgoire's Testo, Andras Laczo, has something to offer, but tends to spit out rather than declaim the words, and to shout at moments of excitement. He has neither the natural fluency of Guy de Mey in the McGegan version on Hungaroton/Conifer, nor the stylistic insight of Nigel Rogers, whose account with Musica Antiqua will take some beating. Rogers would never, for example, have indulged in a melodramatic glissando at the moment when the Testo tells of Tancredi's consternation at recognizing his fatally-wounded opponent as Clorinda. The singing in the Malgoire Ballo is equally patchy: Dominique Visse is a pure-voiced, boyish Amore, but Colette Alliot-Lugaz appears as a rather overmaternal Venus. Christie's Les Arts Florissants do not single out their soloists, but the singing is generally more shaped and expressive, particularly in the case of Venus—who sounds dlstinctly like Visse again .... In neither case is it possible to tell who sings the final lament, but both display a sensitive response to the plaintive vocal writing. The basses singing Pluto—Gregory Reinhart for Malgoire similarly present good accounts, so that singer for singer the match is fairly even here.
Yet Malgoire's performances seem much more ponderous—'seem' because Musica Antiqua's Combattimento and the Ballo of Les Arts Florissants in fact take slightly longer than his versions. (McGegan knocks off a good four minutes in his Combattimento, and its fluent declamation and natural speech-rhythms have much to recommend it.) Part of the problem lies with La Grande Ecurie's rather unimaginative continuo team (chitarrone excepted), who too often bump the ends of phrases thus disrupting the flow, but the static quality that generally prevails stems perhaps more from Malgoire himself, who fails conspicuously to bring out the drama inherent in either work.'

Monteverdi Tancredi e Clorinda. Ballo delle ingrate

(Il) Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda

(Il) Ballo delle ingrate

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