Search - Nicholas Achten, Claudio Monteverdi, Christina Pluhar :: Monteverdi: Teatro d'Amore

Purists may balk...

wolfgang731 | 02/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...but if you love for your early music in general and Monteverdi in particular to be full of dramatic and musical relevance, you'll definitely want this new release from Pluhar's L'Arpegiatta. They'll be few instances in which the immediacy of the music and richness of the text will seem more vigorous or well matched. There's something absolutely infectious about the performances, not to mention something that would seem almost impossible in 400 year old music, and that is a type of freshness that almost verges on the novel, but never so much that it distorts or cheapens the innate beauty of Monteverdi's art. It's playful yet mature, beautiful without being garish. Those who prefer their early music on the more academic and, dare I say, staid side, will no doubt object to liberties Pluhar has taken but those open to new ideas and innovative touches, will eat this recording up. Suffice it to say that I strongly recommend it."

My nominee for best CD of 2009 so far

Arthur Leonard | New York, NY USA | 06/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have become obsessed with this disc. After one hearing, I decided it was great iPod material and imported it right away, and I just keep listening. These performers understand that Monteverdi was one of the great songwriters and most popular composers of his time, and that it was a time that valued improvisation and imagination in the performance of music. They supply the imagination in spades! They even provide some "swing" to a few of the songs, with no announcement in the booklet that this will be happening. When I played this for a friend whose sole exposure to Monteverdi so far was the 1610 Vespers, he said "No way, that's not Monteverdi." But it IS Monteverdi. I especially enjoyed Philippe Jaroussky's work in two solo songs and two excerpts from The Coronation of Poppea. Nuria Rial is splendid in selections from the late madrigal books. Pluhar and her ensemble play Monteverdi like the popular composer that he was. The imaginative accompaniments are faithful to the originals but take off in delightful directions. I wish they would record a follow-up - there is so much great Monteverdi material of this type, and they've but scratched the surface!"

Exuberant Monteverdi but with a pinch (or rather a barrel?!)

Maddy Evil | London, UK | 05/03/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As anyone who has previously encountered L'Arpeggiata will already realise, two aspects define this excellent Parisian-based ensemble: firstly, a phenomenally high level of musicianship, and secondly, a penchant for programmes which are anything but middle-of-the-road (including, in previous years, collaborations with Italian folk singers, flamenco guitarists and even the renowned jazz clarinettist Gianluigi Trovesi). The present recording, a quasi Baroque 'jam session' focusing on some of Monteverdi's best-known 'hits', is no exception. The level of singing and playing is superb throughout - Nuria Rial (soprano), Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor) and Doron Sherwin (cornett) deserve particular mention for their outstanding contributions to the ensemble.



In many respects, the opulent continuo sound of L'Arpeggiata seems ideally suited to Monteverdi's music, with its marked emphasis on varying, sonorous textures: 'Con che soavità' (track 14), for example, is unique amongst the entire monodic repertoire in using three contrasting choirs of stringed instruments (rather than just one continuo part). In addition, the more 'rubato' approach of the vocal soloists in certain tracks is noteworthy: not only does this reflect the views of numerous contemporary musicians and theorists (e.g. Zaconni [1592], Caccini [1601] and Frescobaldi [1615], etc.), but, for the 'Lamento della Ninfa' (track 5), is even requested by Monteverdi himself: 'il pianto di essa [ninfa] qual va cantata a tempo del'affetto dell'animo e non a quello de la mano' (preface, 8th Book of Madrigals, 1638).



Overall, however, there can be little doubt that L'Arpeggiata's approach to this music is not for the faint hearted. Some of the liberties are glaring, such as their use of Moorish percussion and their tendency to present 'snippets' of pieces - the 'Lamento della Ninfa' (track 5) lacks its introductory and concluding sections, 'Hor che'l ciel e la terra' (track 11) lacks its 'seconda parte', and the unspecified 'instrumental' tracks (1, 7 and 13) are a random mishmash of sinfonias and dances taken from 'Orfeo' (1607, Prologue and Acts II & V) and 'Il Ballo delle Ingrate' (1608). Other aspects are perhaps less obvious but no less disturbing. Firstly, the use of cornetti in the madrigals is not very plausible, especially where Monteverdi stipulates 'con doi violini' (as is the case for tracks 11 and 15). Even allowing for the close correlation between violin and cornett at this time, there is no reason why Monteverdi's directions should not be interpreted literally here, particularly given that there are many other examples where he does actually leave the choice open to performers, writing an indication such as 'con quattro viole o Tronboni' (see below *1). Secondly, whilst the embellishments are undeniably astonishing at times (most obviously from cornettist Doron Sherwin), one is left wondering whether Monteverdi would really have approved of such extreme decoration - certainly, his contemporaries were near unanimous in their scornful dismissal of such shameless virtuosity (see below *2). Lastly, questions arise concerning some of the choice of speeds (see below *3) and, just occasionally, the pronunciation (see below *4).



I suspect that these issues will be of little concern to most: certainly, if judged on the strength of the musicianship alone, it hardly needs saying that this is an outstanding release. Ultimately, then, perhaps there is only one real question posed by this recording - namely, should we aim to present Monteverdi's music (or indeed any classical music) as it was probably originally envisaged, or should we simply make it relevant for today's audience...? Listeners must decide for themselves what the answer to such a question is (if, indeed, it can ever really be answered...!).





*1 - such an inscription is found frequently in his sacred works (particularly in his 'Selva Morale' collection of 1641).

*2 - Girolamo dalla Casa ('Il vero modo di diminuir', 1584) can be taken as representative: 'with divisions, do few things but make them good'. Similar views are found in Ercole Bottrigari ('Il Desiderio', 1594), Ludovico Viadana (preface to 'Cento concerti ecclesiastici', 1602), Marco da Gagliano (preface to 'La Dafne', 1608) and Adriano Banchieri ('Gemelli armonici', 1609 and 'Vezzo di perle musicale', 1610), etc.

*3 - the opening of 'Hor che'l ciel e la terra' (track 11) and the pavan-like 'entrata' of 'Il Ballo delle Ingrate' (track 13), for example, would surely have benefitted from a broader, much more spacious approach; additionally, some of the tempi changes between pieces (e.g. track 12) seem very extreme (aesthetically and academically).

*4 - in 'Interrotte speranze' [track 8], for example, 'trofei' should actually be 'troFEI' (rather than 'TROfei'), a slip which undermines the subtleties of the scansion by making it too regular for Italian hendecasyllabic verse.

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