Monteverdi: Venite, videte

This set gathers 2 albums released in 1990 and 1994.

Each of them definitely established Montserrat Figueras as one of the best performers of Claudio Monteverdi’s vocal music. At this time, she developed an innovative style of interpretation, characterised by great fidelity to historical sources, combined with an extraordinary creative and expressive power, that has exerted a decisive influence on the whole historical music movement.

Vocal music before 1800 required a new technical and stylistic approach capable of restoring to the beauty and emotion of the voice, that most human of all forms of expression, the necessary balance between singing and declamation, with an emphasis on the poetic and spiritual dimension of the text.

She is accompanied by Jordi Savall on CD1 and Ton Koopman on CD2.

It is now 21 years ago since Henri Ledroit died. He studied with Alfred Deller and worked extensively with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Clemencic and René Jacobs, but died of AIDS in 1988. Ledroit was one of the first artists to have faith in the grand enterprise that Ricercar launched in 1980.

This recording, complete with the 2009 catalogue, is devoted to cantatas and airs de cour particualrly associated with Ledroit.