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Track(s) taken from CDA67519

Dixit Dominus II 1650

composer
Messa a quattro voci e salmi (1650)
author of text
Psalm 109 (110)

King's Consort Choir, The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor)
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: 5 minutes 26 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)
In the Selva morale – Monteverdi’s own projection of his achievement in the field of church music – there is very little evidence of the standard type of eight-voice psalm setting, with two four-part choirs singing in alternation and together, that we can find in the output of his predecessors and successors at St Mark’s and which were prescribed for important feast days on which the doge attended Vespers and when the Pala d’Oro – the great gold altarpiece – was displayed. So, again, we are indebted to the publisher Vincenti and his 1650 Messa a quattro voci e salmi for this example of just such a setting, ‘alla breve’, in what was coming to be known as the ‘old style’. Even here, however, Monteverdi does not simply alternate the psalm verse by verse between the choirs, as Willaert did, but combines them in a more varied and less predictable series of textures.

from notes by John Whenham © 2005

Les Selva morale – où Monteverdi projeta toute sa musique liturgique – comportent très peu de psaumes à huit voix, avec deux chœurs à quatre parties chantant en alternance et ensemble. Présents chez ses prédecesseurs et ses successeurs à Saint-Marc, ils étaient prescrits pour les importants jours de fête, ceux où le doge assistait aux vêpres et où l’on montrait le grand Pala d’Oro (le grand retable d’or). Là encore, rendons grâce à l’éditeur Vincenti pour ce psaume à huit voix, «alla breve», écrit dans ce qu’on allait appeler le «style ancien». Mais, même là, Monteverdi ne se contente pas d’alterner les versets psalmiques entre les chœurs, à la manière d’un Willaert: il les combine en une série de textures variées, moins prévisibles.

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

In der Selva morale – Monteverdis eigene Darbietung seiner Leistungen im Bereich der Kirchenmusik – sind die typischen achtstimmigen Psalmvertonungen, bei denen zwei vierstimmige Chöre abwechselnd und zusammen singen, die sich im Oeuvre seiner Vorgänger und Nachfolger an San Marco befinden und die für die wichtigen Festtage vorgeschrieben waren, bei denen der Doge dem Vespergottesdienst beiwohnte und die Pala d’Oro – das großartige goldene Altarbild – enthüllt wurde, kaum enthalten. Diese Vertonung, die mit „alla breve“ markiert ist und in dem „alten Stil“, wie er später bezeichnet werden sollte, steht, ist uns wiederum dank des Verlegers Vincenti überliefert. Selbst hier wechselt Monteverdi jedoch nicht Vers für Vers zwischen den beiden Chören ab, wie Willaert es praktizierte, sondern kombiniert sie auf abwechslungsreichere und weniger berechenbare Art und Weise.

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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