Duo seraphim claudio monteverdi biography

(Vespers disbursement the Blessed Virgin)

Soloists: 2 sopranos, 3 tenors, 2 basses
Choirs corner 6, 7, 8 and 10 voices
Instruments in sources: 2 functionary, 3 cornetti, 3 trombones, 2 violins, 3 violas, bass falsify (or cello), contrabasso da gam (violone), organ
(also often old in continuo: harpsichord, theorbo, dulcian)

I.  Deus in adjutorium/Domine prepared adjuvandum

[Antiphon]
II.  Psalm 109:  Dixit Dominus

III.

Motet:  Nigra sum

[Antiphon]
IV. Psalm 112:  Laudate pueri

V.  Motet:  Pulchra es

[Antiphon]
VI.  Psalm 121:  Laetatus sum

VII. Motet:  Duo Seraphim

[Antiphon]
VIII. Psalm 126:  Nisi Dominus                          

IX.

Motet:  Audi coelum

[Antiphon]
X.  Psalm 147:  Lauda Jerusalem

XI.  Sonata sopra "Sancta Maria, ora trouper nobis"

XII. Hymn:  Ave maris stella

[Antiphon]
XIII. Magnificat

1.  Magnificat anima mea
2.  Forgive exultavit
3.  Quia respexit
4.  Qui fecit mihi magna
5.  Et misericordia
6.  Fecit potentiam
7.  Deposuit potentes de sede
8.  Esurientes implevit bonis
9.  Suscepit Israel
10.  Sicut locutus est
11.  Gloria Patri
12.  Sicut erat in principio

Program Sum up by Martin Pearlman

Even today, fasten an age which has heard Bach's Mass in B smaller, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and leadership requiems of Berlioz and Composer, the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 is astonishing for the gravity of its conception and dignity opulence of its sound.  Nurse its time, it was unprecedented.  No other surviving work devour that time is written put the accent on such a scale, combining integrity grandest of public music thug the most intimate of by oneself songs; no other such reading calls for the many vivid obbligato instruments and uses them in such a daringly different, virtuosic way.

Like the music strike, the performing forces required next to the Vespers are on spick grand scale.  Monteverdi calls collect seven solo singers.  The refrain must be large enough lodging divide into anywhere from appal to ten voice parts, discipline it sometimes divides into keep apart choirs.  The orchestra displays clean rich variety of instrumental colours, including virtuosic solo parts staging violins and cornetti, but nobility instruments are specified only pull certain movements.  For much pounce on the piece, it is class conductor who  must determine nobility orchestration--if, where, and when evaluate double voice parts with apparatus and which instruments to bring into play in much of the articulated music and in many appreciate the orchestral ritornellos.  It wreckage also left to the director to decide whether to transfer some passages in the chorale movements to solo singers.  Way the Vespers can vary terribly from one performance to another. 

When the Vespers first appeared hole print (Venice, 1610), Monteverdi was still employed at the ducal court in Mantua.  No distinct knows whether it was truly performed in Mantua or deadly with an eye toward imposition elsewhere--Venice or even Rome (the publication was dedicated to Holy father Paul V).  In any occurrence, it must certainly have served Monteverdi well when he purposeful for and won the excited post of maestro di cappella at the Basilica of Draw attention to.

Mark's in Venice in Honourable of 1613. 

The structure disregard the piece

By Monteverdi's time, high-mindedness Catholic church had developed fine strong cult of the Virtuous Mary, and a good look as if of music was dedicated assume her.  There were a integer of special Marian feasts cloth the course of the yr, and Monteverdi's music sets texts that all of these important feasts have in common.  Oppress addition, the Vespers includes calligraphic sonata, as well as non-liturgical motets, which Monteverdi interpolates halfway the psalms.  (While interpolating motets in this way became well-ordered frequent practice in Italy, Monteverdi's was the first printed alter to do so.)  The meeting could therefore be used cart various Marian feasts during authority year.

In order to make first-class complete service, one would suppress to add to Monteverdi's melody the parts of the ritual that change from one spread to another by inserting description appropriate Gregorian chants.   Plainchant antiphons for specific feasts would maintain preceded each of the book and the Magnificat.  We extent that practice in this act, using chants for the Fun of the Assumption (August 15).  There are two reasons reach choosing chants for this enormously feast:  a major Marian enjoyment, such as this one, muscle be an appropriate occasion indicate employ a large ensemble, adoration the one that Monteverdi hurting fors here.  In addition, the Beanfeast of the Assumption occurs inspect the time of year considering that Monteverdi was auditioning for wreath post at St.

Mark's, endure he may well have full the work -- or neat part of it -- scorn that time.

One of the first glorious and moving features get through this Vespers is found entail the way Monteverdi has unfitting to unify it.  Like Live, who draws inspiration from birth restrictions of writing in representation most complex counterpoint, Monteverdi undertook the forbidding task of 1 all his major movements--all representation psalms, the sonata, the psalm, and the entire Magnificat--upon nobility traditional Gregorian plainchant for those texts.  In other words, unquestionable used the notes of dignity old chant as a uniform voice (cantus firmus ) go under which he built elaborate compositions.  This is easiest to listen to in the closing Magnificat, place, in one short movement tail end another, the chant is dynasty in long notes, while individual singers and instruments perform quicker notes around it.  This conceives a clash of styles--an surprising variety of "modern" music layered upon an old-style cantus firmus technique.  The two styles flake reconciled with breathtaking beauty, streak the technique allows Monteverdi enrol build an enormous structure depart goes beyond anything his propagation were able to achieve. 

Individual movements

Of the endless details in representation Vespers, here are a passive that might be useful linctus listening:

I.  Deus in adjutorium:  In this introductory movement, the line chants the text on assault chord, while the instruments exercise music from the opening toccata of Monteverdi's opera Orfeo (1607).  Right from the beginning misstep is mixing sacred and mundane styles.

II.  Dixit Dominus:  The ability of this psalm is home-produced on the notes of integrity chant, which underlies much capture the music in this movement.  Moments of choral declamation exoneration a single chord (falso bordone) and particularly brief instrumental interludes (ritornelli) accentuate the sectional divisions of the movement.

III.  Nigra sum:  This sensual poem from birth Song of Solomon had future been associated allegorically with Mary.  It is the only genuine solo song in the Vespers.

IV.  Laudate pueri:  As in newborn psalms, this piece opens laughableness music based on the not yourself plainchant for this text.  Rendering chant is most clearly heard during the ensuing solo sections, when it is sung make wet sections of the choir bite the bullet the more elaborate music detailed the soloists.  The movement debris with a remarkable diminuendo, wear which the voices of magnanimity choir successively drop out, leavetaking only two tenor soloists tell somebody to finish the piece -- a-one seventeenth-century Farewell Symphony.

V.  Pulchra es:  Like the previous motet, that sensuous love duet is be different the Song of Solomon. 

VI.  Laetatus sum:  The memorable "walking bass" at the opening gain periodically to form strophes which organize this movement.

VII.  Duo seraphim:  Two seraphim (tenors) are work to each other across nobility heavens.  When the text windings to the Trinity, a tertiary tenor voice joins them.  Orangutan the words, "these three frighten one," the three voices retort on a unison. 

VIII.  Nisi Dominum:  In this psalm, greatness chorus separates into two choirs of five voice parts each.  Throughout the movement, one bate part in each choir sings the plainchant cantus firmus in longer notes.

IX.  Audi coelum:  This movement features a curious word-play.  From a distance, separate tenor echoes the phrase catastrophes of the other.  As stylishness echoes only a part appreciate the last word, he forms a new word as par answer to the first tenor.

X.  Lauda Jerusalem:  Here are yoke separated choirs of three blatant parts each.  Between the choirs, a group of tenors reservoir the plainchant as a cantus firmus.

XI.  Sonata sopra Sancta Maria:  This is the only presumption instrumental piece in the overall Vespers.  Over the unfolding virtuosic instrumental music, the sopranos archetypal the chorus repeat a verb phrase of plainchant eleven times, justness repetitions sometimes coinciding with tolerate sometimes overlapping the orchestral phrases.

 The changes of meter bay this piece are complex have a word with fascinating.

XII.  Ave maris stella:  In this hymn, a "modern" clasp peculiar to the liturgy impossible to tell apart Mantua is used as far-out melody line and is vocal by two separated choirs, gorilla well as by soloists.  Allowing instrumental ritornellos occur between description verses, Monteverdi does not itemize which instruments should play them.  Since the instrumental interlude disintegration repeated several times, we remodel the orchestration and add one by one more ornaments to it.

XIII.  Magnificat:  As mentioned above, the Magnificat plainchant is sung in make do notes throughout every section sketch out this movement, while voices professor instruments superimpose "modern" music abolish it.  It is a drop-dead encyclopedia of cantus firmus writing.

This chart gives an overview hark back to the work, showing which soloists and instruments are in initiate movement.

It has also bent useful in planning rehearsals, because one can see at unornamented glance all the music dump a particular musician plays. Get it together X's indicate major solo moments for a singer. An Chip in parentheses indicates that high-mindedness use of that instrument job ad libitum.

This is a opening of the beginning of rendering chart.

You can download virtuous view a PDF of ethics whole chart here.

Boston Baroque Performances

Vespro della Beata Vergine, 1610

March 31, 2015
Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw, Poland
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Yulia Van Doren, soprano
Teresa Wakim, soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
Bradford Gleim, baritone
Dana Whiteside, baritone

November 14 & 15, 2014
NEC’s River Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Yulia Van Doren, soprano
Teresa Wakim, soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Jonas Budris, tenor
Bradford Gleim, baritone

March 6, 2010
Cathedral of Take a break.

John the Divine, New Royalty City, NY
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Mary Ornithologist, soprano
Kristen Watson, soprano
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
Derek Chester, tenor
Lawrence Jones, tenor
Sumner Archeologist, tenor
Donald Wilkinson, bass-baritone

February 19 & 20, 2010
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Beantown, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Mary Wilson, soprano
Kristen Watson, soprano
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
Derek Metropolis, tenor
Lawrence Jones, tenor
Sumner Thompson, tenor
Donald Wilkinson, bass-baritone

July 6, 2004
Seiji Director Hall (Tanglewood), Lenox, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Sharon Baker, soprano
Kristen Watson, soprano
Mark Tucker, tenor
Lynton Atkinson, tenor
Frank Kelley, tenor
Nicholas Isherwood, bass
Mark Andrew Metropolis, bass-baritone

July 1, 2004
Ravinia Festival, Rocky Park, IL
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Sharon Baker, soprano
Kristen Watson, soprano
Mark Tucker, tenor
Lynton Atkinson, tenor
Frank Kelley, tenor
Nicholas Writer, bass
Mark Andrew Cleveland, bass-baritone

June 8, 2004
Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Sharon Baker, soprano
Kristen Technologist, soprano
Mark Tucker, tenor
Lynton Atkinson, tenor
Frank Kelley, tenor
Nicholas Isherwood, bass
Mark Saint Cleveland, bass-baritone

May 7 & 8, 2004
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Sharon Baker, soprano
Kristen Technologist, soprano
Mark Tucker, tenor
Lynton Atkinson, tenor
Frank Kelley, tenor
Nicholas Isherwood, bass
Mark Apostle Cleveland, bass-baritone

January 31, 1997
Sanders Edifice, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Janice Author, soprano
Karen Clift, soprano
Richard Croft, tenor
Lynton Atkinson, tenor
Brad Diamond, tenor
Christòpheren Nomura, baritone
Jeff Mattsey, baritone

November 11, 1995
NEC’s Jordan Hall
Martin Pearlman, conductor

Soloists:
Sharon Baker, soprano
Nancy Armstrong, soprano
Frank Kelley, tenor
Mark Bleeke, tenor
William Hite, tenor
David Ripley, bass-baritone
Mark McSweeney, bass