Search - Claudio Monteverdi, Paul Nicholson, Giovanni Amigone :: Monteverdi: Second Vespers for the Feast of Santa Barbara

Scholars have been trying for years to figure out the occasion for which Monteverdi might have composed his extraordinary Vespers of 1610. At the time he wrote the music, Monteverdi was employed by the Gonzagas, the ruling family of Mantua; while his duties there were secular in nature, it has been suggested that he may have written the Vespers for the feast of Saint Barbara, the Gonzagas' patron saint, and adapted them to honor the Virgin Mary when he published the music. Harry Christophers and the Sixteen perform here a speculative reconstruction of just such a Vespers service. The traditional order of the works has been changed somewhat to match the order of service for the Vespers of Saint Barbara; plainchant, prayers, two sonatas for solo cornett, and a Palestrina motet in Saint Barbara's honor have been added as well. (The hymn Ave maris stella, aimed specifically at the Virgin and with no place in a Vespers for any other saint, is tacked on at the end for the sake of completeness.) The chorus of the Sixteen (two or three singers per part) and the instrumental contingent give a competent performance, but one without much excitement. The soloists, sopranos especially, are a bit shaky (although the tenor duet-trio "Duo seraphim" is beautifully done). Completist Monteverdi collectors will want this unique rendition of his masterpiece, but it really isn't a first choice, even among liturgical reconstructions. (That would be Andrew Parrott's glorious 1984 recording.) --Matthew Westphal