Harmonia Mundi: HMC901736/37

Press comments:

"Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda is the focus of the canti guerrieri, and the Lamento della Ninfa is at the heart of their counterpart.

Those two works are also the highpoints of René Jacobs's enthralling survey. Typically he seeks out the theatrical potential of every number, but it is in Combattimento, with the baritone Victor Torres delivering the narration at a breathless, physically involving rate, that Jacobs's approach really pays dividends. His generally lush and highly coloured realisations of the instrumental continuo adds further dramatic weight. This is music theatre in all but name, and the Lamento della Ninfa, gorgeously sung by mezzo Bernarda Fink while a trio of male voices supply the chorus, could have been lifted from the pages of one of the late operas, too. Fink is equally seductive as Venus in the Ballo delle Ingrate (originally performed at the same occasion as Monteverdi's now lost opera Arianna) which ends the set, where she is matched by the soprano Maria Cristina Kiehr as Amor.

Every number, though, is a gem; the second of the canti guerrieri, Hor Che'l Ciel e la Terra e'l Vento Tace a setting of a Petrach sonnet, is one of Monteverdi's most perfect achievements, combining love and war in exact balance. Jacobs's singers catch that combination perfectly." Andrew Clements, The Guardian

"Rene Jacobs draws upon superb soloists (Maria Cristina Kiehr, to name but one) for readings of astonishing breadth and refinement." - 5 stars, Andrew Clarke, Daily Telegraph

"Rene Jacobs has procured an impressive international line-up. Through singing and playing of the highest order, Jacobs draws out all the expressive contrasts of the 'agitated', 'languid' and 'temperate' styles that Monteverdi so uniquely exploited here...for flamboyant panache and unbridled exhilaration, Concerto Vocale is unbeatable." Kate Bolton, BBC Music Magazine

"Jacobs' approach to Book 8 is a testament to his deep understanding of the music, respect for Monteverdi's significance in the history of composition, and experience singing and conducting opera. Jacobs's comfort and fluency is evident as he commands the excellent virtuoso forces at his disposal. This performance gives life to structural connections I had only recognized before in the printed music. With Book 8, Monteverdi shattered the limits of the madrigal form. This superb new recording demonstrates how performers can do the same." American Record Guide

"There are several fine versions of the Eighth Book of Madrigals, published in 1638, when Monteverdi was about to embark on his final operas, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea. Jacobs clearly sees this music as a 'pendant' to those operas, and directs dramatic accounts of the warlike works, pushing his singers to extremes of orgasmic ecstasy in the madrigali amorosi. His 'cast' includes Bernarda Fink, who takes the lead in the heart-rending Lamento della Ninfa and is a voluptuous Venus in Il ballo delle ingrate; Maria Christina Kiehr is a no less sensual Amore, and Antonio Abete a sepulchral, basso profundo Plutone, in the same work. Victor Torres rattles out the narration of Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda with machine-gun velocity. A thrilling set." Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times