Monteverdi’s Vespers from 1610 is one of the few works of its time that belongs to the informal canon of pieces that almost every choir dreams of performing at least once. The work is polyphonic, challenging, and requires not only a high number of soloists, but also a relatively large orchestra, including some instruments that are still rather rare and therefore expensive. However Monteverdi’s Vespers can also be performed with considerably less outlay.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner writes about Claudio Monteverdi’s “Vespers 1610” in CARUS Highlights – a work that captivates everyone.
At a time of great changes in which the uncertain, the unpredictable, indeed, even the unsettling can become the new normal, it is the psalms in particular which can offer comfort, confidence, and hope – not only for believers, but also for people who have little or no faith.
It is a repertoire from which quite different programs can be derived – both in terms of length, scoring, level of difficulty (which is moderate in many compositions), but also in terms of fundamental conception: possibilities would be to focus on either a feasible liturgical sequence or a musical exploration of different aspects of the Selva.
Cornelia Fahrion’s first encounters with Monteverdi were in a vocal ensemble singing his secular madrigals, but she very quickly became familiar with his church music output as well. And even if she cannot say that she has one “favorite piece”, she can name a complete collection of musical pieces which moves her deeply.
