Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

I doubt if this review can achieve much. Those who have been collecting this series since volume one are not going to stop now and those who think there are just too many notes to make baroque enjoyable are not going to start. For the record, Robert King and his consort have again distinguished themselves with this, the penultimate disc of his acclaimed series of Vivaldi’s complete sacred music. Recorded here are a collection of radiant settings: the magnificent “Laudate Pueri” featuring Rachel Brown on flute; the “Salve Regina” with motifs creatively modified from an earlier violin concerto; the exuberant “Ascende Leata”, the beautiful hymn setting of “Gaude Mater Ecclesia”, and the motet “Vos Aurae Per Montes”. The vocal soloists are again in fine form so take a bow, please, Carolyn Sampson, Susan Gritton and Nathalie Stutzmann, all of whom have sung elsewhere in this series and a warm welcome to Joanne Lunn and Joyce DiDonato on their series debuts.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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