No 48 Vespro della Beata Vergine

C. Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine, SV 206

Artists: Miriam Allan (soprano), Barbora Kabátková (soprano), Benedict Hymas (altus), William Knight (altus), Guy Cutting (tenor), Samuel Boden (tenor), Johannes Kammler (bass), Jimmy Holliday (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, direction: Philippe Herreweghe

In 1610, Claudio Monteverdi published a large collection of opulently set music for vespers and dedicated it to Pope Paul V. Whether the composer ever conducted a performance of these fantastic concertos and psalm settings is a complete mystery. But today Monteverdi’s »Marian Vespers«, with their contrasting alternation between vocal and instrumental voices, ranks among the most popular sacred works ever. For Philippe Herreweghe, the founder and conductor of Collegium Vocale Gent, this is a work he loves, to which he has devoted himself frequently for many years and always at the very highest level.