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Track(s) taken from CDA67519

Salve regina 1625

composer
Ghirlanda sacra (1625)
author of text
Antiphon to the Virgin Mary from Trinity until Advent

The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor), Charles Daniels (tenor)
Recording details: February 2004
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Ben Turner
Engineered by Jonathan Stokes
Release date: November 2005
Total duration: 4 minutes 20 seconds
 

Reviews

‘Robert King never rushes the music but cannily treads the fine line between dizzying excitement and authoritative splendour. Even if you already admire seminal recordings of Monteverdi sacred music by the likes of Andrew Parrott, Konrad Junghänel and Rinaldo Alessandrini, there are plenty of less familiar gems included that make this series essential’ (Gramophone)

‘This series of recordings is proving to be the definitive account of the neglected side of Monteverdi’s genius, and one that’s unlikely to be surpassed in range and quality for many years’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Robert King's essential exploration of Monteverdi offers yet more evidence of the master's genius. Here the familiar sits with lesser known settings of sacred settings, all works of staggering beauty. King and the soloists capture the essence of this music, with outstanding contributions from Carolyn Sampson, Charles Daniels and James Gilchrist’ (The Independent)

‘This magnificent series goes from strength to strength, each fresh instalment reaching even more stratospheric standards of excellence than its predecessor’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘The opening Laetatus sum is irresistible—typical in its bounce and clarity of every track in the fourth volume of the King's Consort's survey of sacred Monteverdi … Monteverdi collectors shouldn't hesitate’ (The Times)

‘All played and sung with style’ (The Sunday Times)

‘I'm inclined to think this superbly engineered disc the most successful issue yet in a splendid series. Fervently recommended’ (Goldberg)

‘The King's Consort has grown in confidence in this music as the recordings progress; each of these pieces is a joy. The soloists are uniformly excellent, with James Gilchrist comining into his own … These are Rolls-Royce recordings, drawing on the very best of British musicians and recording experience. Even the ripieno choir is peopled with some of the country's most experienced singers’ (Early Music)
If Vespers was not immediately followed by Compline, the last of the daily Hours services, it was the custom to sing one of the four seasonal Marian antiphons with its associated devotions. Of the four, Monteverdi seems to have set only ‘Salve Regina’. This setting, for solo tenor, was first published in 1625 in the anthology Ghirlanda sacra, compiled by Leonardo Simonetti, a castrato singer appointed to the choir of St Mark’s, Venice, in 1613. It is written in the rhetorical declamatory style promoted at the beginning of the seventeenth century by Florentines such as Giulio Caccini, with a little written-out virtuoso ornamentation, and only a modicum of word-painting in the chromatic bass at ‘suspiramus, gementes et flentes’. It is accompanied here by Monteverdi’s favourite combination of continuo instruments – organ and chitarrone.

from notes by John Whenham © 2005

Quand les vêpres n’étaient pas immédiatement suivies de complies (le dernier service quotidien des heures), il était de coutume de chanter l’une des quatre antiennes mariales de saison, avec les dévotions qui lui étaient associées. «Salve Regina» semble avoir été la seule de ces antiennes jamais mise en musique par Monteverdi. Cette œuvre pour ténor solo parut pour la première fois en 1625 dans l’anthologie Ghirlanda sacra, compilée par Leonardo Simonetti, castrat nommé au chœur vénitien de Saint-Marc en 1613. Composée dans le style déclamatoire rhétorique promu au début du XVIIe siècle par des Florentins comme Giulio Caccini, elle comporte une petite ornementation virtuose, écrite en toutes notes, et un minimum de figuralisme dans la basse chromatique à «suspiramus, gementes et flentes». Pour le continuo, Monteverdi recourt à l’une de ses combinaisons instrumentales préférées: orgue et chitarrone.

extrait des notes rédigées par John Whenham © 2005
Français: Hypérion

Wenn auf die Vesper nicht unmittelbar die Komplet, das letzte Stundengebet, folgte, dann wurde traditionell eine der vier Marianischen Antiphonen mit den entsprechenden Gebeten gesungen. Von den vier scheint Monteverdi nur das „Salve Regina“ vertont zu haben. Die vorliegende Vertonung für Solotenor wurde erstmals im Jahre 1625 in der Anthologie Ghirlanda sacra, zusammengestellt von Leonardo Simonetti, herausgegeben. Simonetti, ein Kastrat, war 1613 in den Dienst des Chors zu San Marco in Venedig getreten. Das Stück ist in dem rhetorischen, deklamatorischen Stil komponiert, der zu Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts von Florentiner Komponisten wie Giulio Caccini favorisiert wurde; bei „Ad te clamamus, o Regina“ ist eine kleine notierte virtuose Verzierung und bei „suspiramus, gementes et flentes“ ist nur ein Anflug von Wortmalerei in Form des chromatischen Basses zu hören. Die Begleitung wird hier von Monteverdis Lieblingskombination von Continuo-Instrumenten übernommen: Orgel und Chitarrone.

aus dem Begleittext von John Whenham © 2005
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Monteverdi: The Sacred Music, Vol. 4
This album is not yet available for downloadSACDA67519Super-Audio CD — Deleted
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