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Track(s) taken from CDA67658

Ad te levavi

composer
5vv
author of text
Psalms 122 (123): 1, 3; 123 (124): 8; 124 (125): 4; 125 (126): 4

Cinquecento
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
Recording details: August 2007
Wallfahrtskirche, St Wolfgang bei Weitra, Austria
Produced by Stephen Rice
Engineered by Markus Wallner
Release date: May 2008
Total duration: 4 minutes 19 seconds

Cover artwork: Winter. Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593)
Private Collection, © Agnew's, London / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘The music is beautifully performed and well worth a listen; Monte's settings are full of variety and fruity chromaticisms, and Cinquecento more than does him justice’ (Choir & Organ)

‘Their performances make it clear that Monte is a composer of distinction’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘An enticing snapshot of [Monte's] musical personality. Detailed word-painting and an imaginatively dramatic response to his texts' changing moods are displayed in pieces such as Ad te levavi and Miserere mei’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘An impassioned and beautiful performance by Cinquecento … the exceptional blend of voices and unified approach to phrasing augur well for their future as great interpreters of Renaissance music … a marvellous affinity for Monte … they have no need of a conductor to achieve lovely long phrases full of warmth and life … the individual voices are all lovely, and the countertenors float above the texture without dominating it’ (Early Music Review)

‘An unusually gifted ensemble, both vocally and musically … here is a group whose tone, vocal flexibility, collective and individual musicianship and commitment to their chosen repertoire places them at the very forefront of modern-day specialists in the performance of Renaissance vocal music … a disc which is not only a real treat to the ears but a most valuable and worthwhile exposé of little-known repertoire … unfailingly compelling and absorbing performances … it is the Mass which, at 25 minutes, dominates the disc and shows most obviously the many strengths of this outstanding vocal ensemble … at the start of the Kyrie, for example, we have a layered texutre the subtle balance of which, while seeming entirely natural, must have taken a great deal of effort to achieve. As it unfolds there is the impression of clouds parting to reveal a vast landscape as viewed from a montain top, a sense of spaciousness and a grandeur which is profoundly moving. This is a veritable jewel of a disc’ (International Record Review)

‘Beautifully blended sound by a young pan-European vocal sextet, rich with character and individuality in rare 16th-century polyphony’ (Classic FM Magazine)
The most striking feature of Ad te levavi is the wide leap assigned to the highest voice to illustrate its opening phrase, ‘I lift up’; this octave leap is not in fact very easy to work with contrapuntally, so Monte allows the other voices to leap through smaller intervals. The piece is highly dramatic throughout, however: the setting of ‘Miserere nostri, Domine’ (‘Have mercy on us, O Lord’) features an unusual variety of chords, as if the suppliant soul were twisting and turning in an effort to attract the attention of the Creator; later, God is invited to do good to those of pure and upright hearts, with diatonic chords representing their orthodoxy. The motet as a whole is pungent and memorable in its musical language.

from notes by Stephen Rice © 2008

Le trait le plus saisissant d’Ad te levavi est le large saut assigné à la voix la plus aiguë pour illustrer la phrase d’ouverture «Je m’élève»; ce saut d’octave étant malaisé à travailler contrapuntiquement, de Monte autorise les autres voix à sauter des intervalles plus petits. Ce qui n’empêche pas la pièce d’être toujours très dramatique: le «Miserere nostri, Domine» («Prends pitié de nous, Seigneur») présente une variété inhabituelle d’accords, comme si l’âme implorante se tortillait pour attirer l’attention du Créateur; plus tard, Dieu est invité à faire le bien aux cœurs purs et droits, dont l’orthodoxie est symbolisée par des accords diatoniques. Dans l’ensemble, Ad te levavi a un langage musical âcre et mémorable.

extrait des notes rédigées par Stephen Rice © 2008
Français: Hypérion

Das erstaunlichste Merkmal in Ad te levavi ist der weite Sprung in der höchsten Stimme, um die einleitende Phrase „Zu dir hebe ich“ zu illustrieren; dieser Oktavsprung macht die kontrapunktische Arbeit schwierig, und Monte erlaubt den anderen Stimmen daher, über kleinere Intervalle zu springen. Das Stück ist jedoch durchweg dramatisch: die Vertonung des „Miserere nostri, Domine“ („Sei uns gnädig, Herr“) weist eine ungewöhnliche Vielfalt von Akkorden auf, als ob die demütige Seele sich in der Anstrengung, die Aufmerksamkeit des Schöpfers zu erwecken, dreht und wendet; später wird Gott gebeten, jenen die reinen Herzens und aufrichtig sind, Gutes zu tun, und ihre Rechtgläubigkeit wird durch diatonische Akkorde dargestellt. Die Motette als Ganzes ist durch ihre musikalische Sprache scharf und einprägsam.

aus dem Begleittext von Stephen Rice © 2008
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

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