Monteverdi: Messa a 4 voci da Cappella (1650)

A century ago, Richard Runciman Terry re-introduced the wonders of the Renaissance into liturgical polyphony and placed Westminster Cathedral Choir at the pinnacle of the art. Terry was a musical pioneer whose work as Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral between 1902 and 1924 is legendary. The musical roadmap that Richard Terry charted for London’s new Roman Catholic cathedral remains largely unrevised today. Plainchant and Renaissance polyphony are the bedrock of Westminster Cathedral’s sung liturgy—early music is the root from which the cathedral’s musical endeavours have branched for over a century. Also, from Westminster Cathedral’s earliest years, alongside the fascination with early vocal repertory, composers have been commissioned to contribute to the canon; when they have done so the choir’s antique musical diet has frequently been at the forefront of those composers’ imagination.

This disc is a homage to Terry’s work: a procession through a particularly rich section of the church’s year which perfectly illustrates the changing glories of the liturgy.

Of his rich and prolific legacy, Claudio Monteverdi, born in Cremona in 1567, is particularly celebrated for his innovations; one of the most influential figures of 16th- and 17th-century music, he extended the expressive possibilities of his craft in an inventive blend of the old and new. This 3-disc set is a superb overview of his long and varied career, touching on each of the genres that he transformed – choral music, the madrigal, secular song and opera.

Monteverdi’s commitment to effective text expression is apparent throughout the collection, where it is fully explored in enduring performances led by Angelo Ephrikian. The secular songs and madrigals – drawn primarily from the Quarto scherzo delle ariose vaghezze of 1624, Scherzi musicali of 1632 and the posthumously published Ninth Book of Madrigals – reveal the composer’s experimentation with melody, dissonance and form in response to his texts. His sensitivity to drama and emotion is particularly evident in Lamento d’Arianna, which has been renowned for its ability to move audiences. Even the choral works are permeated by a sense of drama; the Mass for four voices and Salve Regina No.2, for example, carry all the hallmarks and expressive inflections of his secular madrigals.

From his years as a court composer to his time as maestro di cappella of San Marco in Venice, Monteverdi’s career was defined by his revolutionary approach to musical expression. This 3-disc collection is an engaging exploration of some of his most significant developments, and a fitting tribute to a composer who has been described as the ‘creator of modern music’.

New booklet note by Berta Joncus, which explores Monteverdi’s career and the compositions in this collection.

Founded by Michel Corboz in 1961, the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne is made up of vocal and musical personalities who are perfectly in phase with its conductor’s tastes and requirements. This enables the ensemble to tackle an extremely wide repertoire that covers the history of music from the early Baroque (Monteverdi, Carissimi) to the 20th century (Poulenc, Honegger). This fine super budget box set firmly demonstrates their vocal skill in this Sacred Music collection.

A wonderful 7-CD set that celebrates 50 years of the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne’s existence under the baton of Michel Corbez. This set also celebrates 300 years of sacred music, bringing together some of the greatest works in a clam-shell budget priced collection.