Monteverdi Choir

“Gardiner's performance is notable for its intensity and fervour, and for the superb singing of his choir: splendidly firm and secure attacks and phrasing, always with fine tonal quality, meticulous attention to dynamic nuances, and alertness to verbal meaning and nuance. The solo baritone is a real find: an admirably focused voice with cleanly projected words and sensitive tonal gradations: if the soprano, pure-voiced and consoling, seems slightly less distinguished, it may be that she's set a trifle too far from the microphone.
Pains have been taken to bring out contrapuntal strands with clarity, in both the chorus and the orchestra; and here the employment of period instruments and of selective string vibrato makes a significant contribution. In the past Gardiner has been accused of minimising the spiritual quality of religious works; but not in this outstanding performance.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“This large-scale live recording (Gardiner's second) was made in Venice's St Mark's Basilica. It captures the drama as well as the ceremonial aspect of the work, despite sometimes cloudy recorded sound (See Archiv 073 035-9 for the spectacular DVD).” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Gardiner's second [recording of the Vespers], spectacularly recorded live in St Mark's, has a punchy choral sound, near-operatic solo singing (Bryn Terfel and Alistair Miles are among the basses), emphatic enunciation, big contrasts and deliberate exploitation of the building's spaces. Its outright theatricality sets it apart from other performances.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010

“…beautifully paced and each season vividly characterised. Barbara Bonney is a sweetly innocent Hanne.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008

“The comparative unpopularity of Haydn's TheSeasons when considered against The Creation is understandable perhaps, but it isn't all that well deserved. Less exalted its subject and libretto may be, but its depiction of the progress of the year amid the scenes and occupations of the Austrian countryside drew from its composer music of unfailing invention, benign warmth and constant musical-pictoral delights. As usual, Gardiner and his forces turn in disciplined, meticulously professional performances, though the orchestra is slightly larger – and consequently a tiny bit less lucid – than the sort you might nowadays find playing a classical symphony.
The choir, however, performs with great clarity and accuracy, and brings, too, an enjoyable sense of characterisation to their various corporate roles.
The soloists all perform with notable poise and intelligence: Barbara Bonney's voice is pure and even, Anthony Rolfe Johnson sounds entirely at ease with the music, and Andreas Schmidt is gentle-voiced but certainly not lacking in substance.
A first-class recommendation.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010