Vivat Music http://vivatmusic.com/have brought together fourteen pieces of
Monteverdi’s finest secular music drawn from L'Orfeo and L'Incoronazione
di Poppea as well as many of his books of madrigals.
This new release
features the Kings Consort http://tkcworld.org
directed by Robert King with sopranos
Carolyn Sampson, Rebecca Outram and Julie Cooper, mezzo sopranos Sarah Connolly
and Diana Moore, tenors Charles Daniels, John Bowen and James Gilchrist and basses Robert Evans and Michael George. I
fine line up if ever there was one. www.carolynsampson.com
www.sarah-connolly.com www.rayfieldallied.com/artists/diana-moore
www.charles-daniels-society.org.uk www.hazardchase.co.uk/artists/charles-daniels
www.jamesgilchrist.co.uk/home.html
VIVAT 104 |
The Kings Consort has a fine instrumental line-up that
includes three violins, two violas, a bass violin, a violone, two chitarrrone,
two guitars, a double harp, two cornets, three sackbuts and organ and
harpsichord that produce a terrific sound under the direction of Robert King.
The toccata from L’Orfeo makes a grand opening with the
lovely sounds of the Kings Consort, before the Ritornello and Dal mio
permesso from that same opera, with further glorious sounds from the
consort in the opening that precedes the entry of that fine soprano, Carolyn
Sampson, in exquisitely fine voice, flexible, musical and with rich timbres.
Tenors Charles Daniels and James Gilchrist blend and play off each other
brilliantly in Zefiro torna from Scherzi musicali of 1632, with such fine
Italian feeling.
Ohimè, dov’è il mio
ben is from the Seventh Book of Madrigals with Carolyn Sampson and Rebecca
Outram providing some fabulous singing in ‘Alas,
where is my love? Where is my heart?’, with these two fine sopranos making
a perfect blend of voices, full of feeling. What lovely control at the end. Again
from the Seventh Book of Madrigals comes Chiome
d’oro where, after a buoyant opening from the Kings Consort, Carolyn
Sampson and Rebecca Outram enter together, perfectly balanced and with such a
light touch.
A Dio, Roma, the
Lament of Ottaria from
L’Incoronazione di Poppea opens with gloriously rich notes from the
chitarrone before mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly sings an intense ‘Farewell,
Rome, my Fatherland, my friends, Farewell’ in another stunning performance from
another fine artist. As the aria continues, the drama and intensity increase
with some beautiful accompaniment from the instrumentalists of the Kings
Consort. A Dio, Florida bella, from the
Sixth Book of Madrigals features Carolyn Sampson, Diana Moore, Charles Daniels,
John Bowen and Michael George. Charles Daniels enters as Floro singing ‘Farewell, Florida, my aching heart’ before
Carolyn Sampson as Florida sings ‘Dearest
Floro, farewell: may Love console.’ When the solo voices come together, they
complete a fine performance, with each voice so fine yet making a lovely
ensemble.
Charles Daniels and James Gilchrist provide another strong
duet with Interrotte speranze from the Seventh Book of Madrigals, finely
built in drama, slowly rising with terrific support from the Kings Consort,
particularly those amazing chitarrone who make some lovely sounds. Lamento d’Arianna “Lasciatemi morire”
from the Sixth Book of Madrigals, again has Carolyn Sampson, Diana Moore,
Charles Daniels, John Bowen and Michael George providing a perfectly blended
and controlled ensemble to open this lament ‘Let
me die, let me die. How can I console myself?’ This is fine artistry.
Passente spirto from
L’Orfeo brings the strong voice
of Charles Daniels, beautiful in the
decorations and very much conjuring up the feeling of which he sings in the
words ‘Powerful spirit, awesome deity’
with a palpable sense of awe. The cornettes of the Kings Consort provide a
melancholy sound with the double harp adding a further striking sound. This is
a wonderful performance from Daniels. Carolyn Sampson and Rebecca Outram again
bring a lovely blend of voices in O come
sei gentile from the Seventh Book of Madrigals. It is the way they achieve
such finesse and balance that marks out this duet.
Charles Daniels, John Bowen and Michael George bring a
slightly satirical manner to their richly blended Lamento della Ninfa from the Eighth Book of Madrigals. When Carolyn
Sampson arrives she brings a sense of loss, responded to in a serious vein by
the male singers, who sound exquisite as they sing ‘Miserella’. Cruda Amarilli
from the Fifth Book of Madrigals brings Carolyn Sampson, Julie Cooper, Charles
Daniels, John Bowen and Michael George again showing how the solo voices blend
as an ensemble, yet with distinctive vocal sounds, as they sing ‘Cruel Amaryllis, who with your name to
love, alas, bitterly you teach.’
Finally there is the incomparable Hor che ‘I ciel, e la terra from the Eighth Book of Madrigals with Carolyn
Sampson, Diana Moore, Charles Daniels, John Bowen, Robert Evans and Michael
George. From the quiet, tentative opening, ‘Now
that the heavens, earth and wind are silent’ a tremendously expectant
atmosphere is built. ‘Wakeful, I think,
burn, weep’ is wonderfully sung, dramatic, and thoughtful, with so many
great contributions from individual voices in the faster, dramatic sections. There
are some lovely parts where the voices slowly rise and, at the end, a
stunningly performed part when the upper voices rise into the heights and the
lower voices to the depths. This is terrific and a fine end to this disc.
This is a beautifully produced disc, finely recorded, with
first rate notes. If I were only able to have one disc of works by Monteverdi
this would have to be the one.
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