Nicholas Kenyon 

Various: Italian Vespers – review

I Fagiolini's reconstructed 1612 Vespers may not match Monteverdi but it still has plenty to recommend it, writes Nicholas Kenyon
  
  


Can 1612 be right? Monteverdi's famous collection of 1610 has long been an early music landmark, but this new collection is more speculative: a liturgical reconstruction of Vespers for the feast of the Rosary, featuring music by Lodovico Viadana and his colleagues. The sound is sumptuous, the performances by I Fagiolini (following up their acclaimed Striggio 40-part Mass) utterly magnificent – only the music itself slightly disappoints. Happily Monteverdi sneaks in with a superb bass solo (Jonathan Sells), and the highlight is Hugh Keyte's reconstruction of Giovanni Gabrieli's electrifying 28-part Magnificat, complete with bells and fanfares, and his In ecclesiis, a sonic spectacular.

 

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