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Track(s) taken from CDA66769

Kyrie, RV587

composer
c1720
author of text
Ordinary of the Mass

King's Consort Choir, The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor)
Recording details: August 1994
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Ben Turner
Engineered by Philip Hobbs
Release date: April 1995
Total duration: 8 minutes 45 seconds
 

Reviews

‘Very special indeed … the ebullient notes come bouncing off the page and just when it seems that everyone is giving their stupendous all, Robert King manages to squeeze a little extra. A Dixit Dominus to sweep you off your feet. Volume 1 is going to be a hard act to follow’ (Classic CD)

‘The production values on this disc could hardly be bettered. I don't know what Hyperion is feeding their recording equipment but these are some contented cows and they produce pure Devonshire cream. This is deep sound, the kind the listener practically feels he can reach out and touch. There is scarcely a church or concert hall anywhere in the world with an ambience this sensual … One of the finest discs to have come my way this year. Look for this one on my year-end Want list. But don't wait till December, buy it now’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Lustrous, immaculate performances’ (The New Yorker, USA)
Vivaldi’s Kyrie in G minor for double choir and orchestra dates from the 1720s and was probably the companion to a lost setting of the Gloria in B flat major, for which an introductory motet survives. Its first ‘Kyrie eleison’ movement opens with the solemn chordal passage mentioned above. This is answered by a different idea, based on a broken-chord figure on strings. The two musical elements alternate before being combined at the end of the movement. The ‘Christe eleison’ is a gentle ‘duet’ for the two cori, each consisting of sopranos and altos with strings. Here the florid writing in semiquavers for the singers is echoed attractively by the instrumental bass. For the second ‘Kyrie eleison’ Vivaldi writes a short choral introduction followed by a severe double fugue for united cori. It is suspected by some scholars that this movement is adapted from another work, possibly by an older composer. Be this as it may, the fugue is powerfully eloquent and sustains successfully the impassioned, chromatic character of the composition.

from notes by ©

Other albums featuring this work

Vivaldi: The Complete Sacred Music
CDS44171/8111CDs Boxed set (at a special price) — Download only
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