Monteverdi: Selva morale e spirituale (excerpts)

“[The Allegri] is one of the highlights, the 1970 recording by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge achieving an almost weightless sublimity, particularly in the Sanctus. The Taverner Consort of the 1980s offers similarly impressive interpretations of Giovanni Gabrieli's polychoral pieces” The Independent, 25th November 2011

“One of the earliest and best Vesper sets, certainly the prettiest-sounding. The quality of singers, the rising early music stars of their age, is unsurpassed.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2009 *****

“The technical and interpretative problems of the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 are legion.
Should the entire volume be performed as an entity, or just the psalms, or perhaps a mixture of psalms and motets? Since the vocal lines in the original are heavily ornamented, does this preclude the addition of further embellishment after the manner of contemporary instruction books? Which portions should be sung chorally (and how large should such a 'choir' be?), and which by the soloists? How should the continuo be realised? The central controversy concerns five nonliturgical compositions inserted among the Marian psalms, hymn and 'Magnificat'. These, the sacred concerti described on the title-page as 'suitable for the chapels or private chambers of princes', don't conform textually to any known Marian office but occur in Monteverdi's collection in positions normally occupied by psalm antiphons. Here the concerti are performed as substitutes for the antiphons missing from Monteverdi's collections. One effect is to make this version feel more unified and monumental.
Both physically and emotionally the concerti are presented here as the focal points of the Vespers.
Certainly they're the occasion for some of the most spectacular singing. The essential ingredient is the performance of Nigel Rogers, surely the most accomplished and convincing singer of the early 17th-century Italian virtuoso repertory. He gives persuasive and seemingly effortless performances in three of the concerti in his mellifluous, dramatic yet perfectly controlled manner. In two cases, 'Audi coelum' and 'Duo Seraphim', he's well matched with Andrew King and Joseph Cornwell. 'Pulchra es', sung by Tessa Bonner and Emma Kirkby, seems comparatively rather understated.
One important feature of Andrew Parrott's interpretation is its fundamental conception, historically accurate, of the Vespers as chamber work rather than a 'choral' one. Thus only one instrument is used per part, the harpsichord is employed very sparingly, and the basic continuo group is restricted to organ and chitarrone.
Following the same principle, one voice per part is taken as the norm. The result is a clarity of texture, evident from the opening bars, which allows correct tempos to be used without stifling often intricate rhythmic features.
Another fundamental choice represents something of a novelty. Both 'Lauda Jerusalem' and the 'Magnificat' are transposed down a fourth here, as they should be according to the convention relating to the clef combinations in which they were originally notated. This brings all the vocal parts into the tessitura of the rest of the work, and restores the instruments to their normal ranges. Whether or not the result is less 'exciting' than the version we're used to hearing has only partly to do with questions of musicality. For the rest, one of the lasting virtues of this well-balanced, unobtrusive recording is that it allows us to hear the Vespers sounding something along the lines that Monteverdi intended.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“...with some of Britain's finest consort singers & instrumentalists involved, and model solo contributions from Emma Kirkby and Nigel Rogers, there is a vocal clarity and beauty here that gives the work a new humanity and intimacy.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010

“One of Parrott's greatest achievements and still one of the finest Vespers ever despite strong recent competition, this superbly presented version catches an expert British cast of singers and players at a peak in their powers.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2007

“The first recording to engage fully with the scholarly debates regarding the form, purpose and pitch of the work, this 1984 version is a comprehensive and radical attempt to reconstruct a festal Vespers service, the music reordered so that it no longer seems to work towards a proto-Wagnerian climax.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010