Search - Claudio Monteverdi, Federico Marincola, Sergio Vartolo :: Monteverdi:Scherzi Musicali a tre voci

This is apparently the only complete recording of the Scherzi musicali in print. How odd: these straightforward settings of Italian verse, scored for two sopranos and bass, are among Monteverdi's most accessible works: each stanza of a poem is set to the same music, with a ritornello (repeated instrumental interlude, in this case for two violins and continuo) separating the verses. Performers can avoid the potential repetitiveness by doing some verses as solos and adding embellishments to each verse. The instrumentalists do this quite nicely (the harpsichordist throws in a little flourish at the end of every piece); the singers don't do it enough. In addition, Vartolo takes most of these pieces at the same moderate tempo: it all begins to blur into Monteverdi-in-the-Morning. That said, the period instrumentalists and singers have a light, nimble sound ideal for this music, and four or five of the pieces do get very lively, dance-like performances (with added tambourine or drum); those are a real treat--and worth the very reasonable price of this disc. --Matthew Westphal