Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi

“The atmosphere is electric. Villazón is pouring out Monteverdi’s beautiful lines of remorseful agony with spell-binding force. It’s his first foray into early music, but he tosses off the tricky idioms – the delicate, falling sospiri between notes, the hellishly difficult bouncing-ball repetitions on one note, the flexible tempi – as if he’s been doing them all his life. And what’s more, he invests them with thrilling urgency and passion. Even Haïm, directly form the harpsichord, seems amazed.” Gramophone Magazine

“some of the most exquisitely intense vocal music ever written” The Times

‘This is a quite stunning record. Treat yourself to it, even if it means pawning something you can live without’ (Gramophone)

“Il Giardino Armonico’s performances burst with freshness and prove how exciting original instruments can be.” USA Today, October 1997

“More than any other version, this one sounds like its director has set out to enjoy himself and forget the musicological baggage. Gleefully choral and revelling in presenting the Vespers as a work of splendour, it benefits from some strong solo singing (notably from Charles Daniels and James Gilchrist)” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010

“Despite four wonderful volumes of Monteverdi's sacred music from The King's Consort, nothing will prepare you for the ecstatic consequences of taking seriously at least one aspect of Monteverdi's so-called seconda pratica – using much freer counterpoint, with an increasing hierarchy of voices: that the word is mistress of the music. And what ecstasy! Never mind the majestic opening psalm: just listen to the eloquent gestures in the 'Dixit Dominus', which range from the declamatory to the reticent with astonishing flexibility. Or the freedom and delicacy of tenor James Gilchrist in the 'Nigra sum', equally matched by the fragile spaciousness of Caroline Sampson's and Rebecca Outram's 'Pulchra es'.
Spaciousness soon loses its fragility in the propulsive 'Nisi Dominus' and the 'Lauda Jerusalem' with its luxuriant finale. And although the 'Sonata sopra Sancta Maria' is still preferable with a solo soprano line, its instrumental variations are here dispatched with such fluency it's hard not to be won over; the 'Ave maris stella' is similarly eloquent.
The second disc includes equally superb performances of the alternative six-voice Magnificat and the Missa In illo tempore.
The cumulative effect here is of a dazzling chiaroscuro that Monteverdi surely would have recognised. With its use of full choir, King's recording has room to manoeuvre – which gives the imagination more room to take flight.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“The majesty and the ecstasy - King's forces are glorious in Monteverdi… Never mind the majestic opening psalm: just listen to the eloquent gestures in the 'Dixit Dominus', which range from the declamatory to the reticent with astonishing flexibility. Or the freedom and delicacy of tenor James Gilchrist in the 'Nigra sum', equally matched by the fragile spaciousness of Caroline Sampson's and Rebecca Outram's 'Pulchra es'.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2006

“In their Monteverdi Editions, La Venexiana bring a dramatic delivery of the words and a uniquely Italian blend of solo voices to this glorious music, unrivalled on disc.” Sunday Times

“The disc opens with a splendid Laetatus sum for six solo singers, choir and instruments. …the tenor in Salve, o Regina delivers some wonderfully impassioned decoration, and the sopranos in the final Laudate Dominum are flashingly bright throughout and end on a perfect unison. Nor should we forget the instrumentalists: the violinists in Sanctorum meritis dance their way through the music in a way that transfigures the bare notes on the page.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2005 *****

“The fourth volume of Robert King's exploration of Monteverdi's sacred music continues to mix pieces from different sources: the composer's authorised collection Selva morale e spirituale, the posthumous Venetian collection Messa aquattro voci e salmi, and various Italian anthologies.
The beginning of Laetatus sum I instantly establishes the impeccable technical credentials of these stunning performances. The organ and chitarrone continuo is steady and sure-footed, joined a few bars later by a flamboyant violin duel stunningly dispatched by Simon Jones and Andrea Morris, and then crowned with a glorious duet by Carolyn Sampson and Rebecca Outram. The Choir of The King's Consort reinforce tutti passages with some splendid contributions and meet the florid, extrovert eightpart writing in Dixit Dominus II with colourful commitment. In the motet Adoramus te, Christe – not to be confused with the comparably beautiful but better known Christe adoramus, te – the choir shows its skill at gentler music, although I wonder if the use of solo voices might have been equally attractive and closer to what Monteverdi would have expected.
Charles Daniels and James Gilchrist beautifully judge several intimate tenor solos; Gilchrist's glorious and heartfelt singing in Salveregina I features some wonderful echo contributions from Daniels. Their tender communication of the text and sweet high registers consolidate their status as the finest English tenors of their type. 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 Classical Music Guide, 2010