Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

In the autumn of 1610 Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) redrew the musical map when he dedicated a luxuriant collection of religious music to Pope Paul V, of which the 'Vespers Of The Blessed Virgin' is by far the most prodigious work. A spectacular synthesis of Franco-Flemish polyphony and Italian innovations, this impressive monument imposed itself as the standard-bearer of the Monteverdian revolution. Even today after Bach, Mozart, add the name of any of the greatest composers, Monteverdi still takes our breath away so in his own day he must have shone brighter than any who had gone before. This double CD was first released to much acclaim in 1996 and while it is good to have it back in circulation there are some serious rivals out there. Conductor Rene Jacobs is a prolific and renowned specialist in baroque and classical vocal music and here the Nederlands Kamerkoor and Concerto Vocale excel under his assured direction. However you do not have to spend long searching to find other recordings which are equally proficient and some are much more competitively priced. Personally I am fond of The King's Consort version on Hyperion from 2006 although this is not cheap either so if I were on a budget I would go for Murray Khouri and The Scholars Baroque Ensemble on Naxos from 2000. However talking about the price of something as special as these Vespers is to miss the point. The music is glorious and we should be happy that there are so many excellent recordings available. This version from Rene Jacobs will not disappoint and keen collectors of Monteverdi may well find that they get a new and fresh perspective from it.

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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