Vivaldi: Longe mala, umbrae, terrores, RV629

In eighteenth-century Italy, a motet was a vocal composition, to a Latin text, of a sacred (but not liturgical) nature. In reality, motets, written for solo voices, were bravura pieces, as we see from Vivaldi’s contributions to the genre, in which he demonstrates all his skills as a composer of vocal works.

Naïve’s very successful ‘Baroque Voices’ series of mid-price re-issues goes one better with four special box sets at even greater discount. The last of these comprises four wide-ranging discs of Vivaldi’s sacred music. Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano again contribute extensively, performing on three mixed discs, with the popular Gloria, Stabat Mater, Cantatas and various concerti among the pieces, and Alessandro de Marchi directs the Academia Montis Regalis on a recording of six Vivaldi Motets.