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Track(s) taken from CDA67438

Venite, siccientes a 2

composer
Seconda raccolta de' sacri canti (1624)
author of text

The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor)
Recording details: February 2004
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Release date: April 2004
Total duration: 5 minutes 10 seconds
 

Reviews

‘Monteverdi is one of those composers who really does merit a complete recording of his output. The sacred works have been a little neglected, and this splendid new series, with its informed and intelligent booklet notes, is putting things right’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘There are joys here to melt icebergs … I want Volume 3 immediately’ (The Times)

‘Sumptuous surround sound and full-blooded performances from Robert King and Co combine to thrilling effect in the second release in their fabulous Monteverdi cycle’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Where this new disc really comes into its own is in the small-scale motets, where King's outstanding roster of soloists would be exceedingly difficult to better … The rarely performed motets alone should ensure the present disc its place in any Monteverdi collection, while John Whenham's notes prove as valuable an asset as those Michael Talbot provided for King's Vivaldi sacred music traversal’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘I'll say it straight out: the result is truly exciting! The music is magnificent, and so is the interpretation … the architecture of the programme is particularly remarkable, and the album is built on balance, variety, contrast’ (Goldberg)

‘The King’s Choir and Consort directed by Robert King made a complete series of the Sacred Music of Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) … this is music that I could listen to all day long. With Carolyn Sampson and Rebecca Outram (sopranos), Rogers Covey-Crump (high tenor), Charles Daniels and James Gilchrist (tenors) and Peter Harvey (bass) you could hardly wish for a more distinguished team of soloists’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘This is an absolutely crack team of soloists, all of whom are completely at home in Monteverdi's idiom. The tenors in particular luxuriate in the ornamental roulades’ (Early Music)

«En effet, c'est avec un tact et une finesse sans précédent que King mène son corpus instrumental … la douceur séraphique de Sampson et Outram dans le Venite, Siccientes n'a d'équivalent que la parfaite maîrise de la diction, des sons enflés et de la souplesse de ces voix» (Classica, France)
This duet, from Calvi’s Second Collection of Sacred Songs (Seconda raccolta de’ sacri canti, 1624), takes the Old Testament image of a land flowing with milk and honey and transfers it to a Christian context in which water and wine, honey and milk are freely given by the Lord. Monteverdi sets the text in four sections. The first two and the last are in triple time, culminating in the slower refrain ‘mel et lac’ (honey and milk), laced with a bitter-sweet harmony for the first statement of the word ‘lac’. The third section, the focal point of the motet, is set in an expressive recitative-like style.

from notes by John Whenham © 2004

Tiré du Deuxième Livre de chants sacrés de Calvi (Seconda raccolta de’ sacri canti, 1624), ce duo reprend à son compte la scène de l’Ancien Testament d’un pays fleurissant de lait et de miel pour la projeter dans un contexte chrétien où l’eau et le vin, le miel et le lait sont offerts par le Seigneur. Le texte de Monteverdi comprend quatre sections. Les deux premières ainsi que la dernière sont en ternaire, culminant dans le refrain plus lent « mel et lac » (miel et lait) orné d’une harmonie douce-amère pour le premier énoncé du mot « lac ». La troisième section, le point central du motet, est réalisée dans un style expressif aux allures de récitatif.

extrait des notes rédigées par John Whenham © 2004
Français: Isabelle Battioni

In diesem Duett aus Calvis Zweiter Sammlung von Geistlichen Gesängen (Seconda raccolta de’ sacri canti, 1624) wird das alttestamentarische Bild von Flüssen von Honig und Milch in einen christlichen Zusammenhang gerückt, in dem der Herr Wasser und Wein und Honig und Milch großzügig verteilt. Monteverdi vertont den Text in vier Teilen. Die ersten beiden und der letzte stehen im Dreiertakt und kulminieren in dem langsameren Refrain „mel et lac“ (Honig und Milch), der bei der ersten Nennung des Wortes „lac“ mit einer bitter-süßen Harmonie versehen ist. Der dritte Teil, das Herzstück der Motette, ist rezitativartig und mit besonderem Ausdruck vertont.

aus dem Begleittext von John Whenham © 2004
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Monteverdi: The Sacred Music, Vol. 2
This album is not yet available for downloadSACDA67438Super-Audio CD — Deleted
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