Search - Antonio Vivaldi, Jeremy Summerly, Nicholas Ward :: Vivaldi: Gloria, RV 589; Beatus Vir, RV 597

This, among the many recordings I sampled, comes the closest

Squonk | The dark forests of Pennsylvania, where hunters fo | 12/03/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"NOTE: This review will concentrate upon the Gloria in D, RV 589. While the other included work is very nice, I have not had enough experience with it to pass judgement upon this recording of it versus others.



This recording, as the title implies, is the best among all those which I have sampled on Amazon. The most notible comparison was to that of master Robert Shaw; the latter, in my opinion, is far too romantic an interpretation (the strings are too lush and the style lacks the tight vivacity of Baroque music). Additionally, Shaw allowed some MAJOR mistakes insofar as pronounciation within the movements with solos (i.e. in movement VI the soprano sang "doy-mi-ni," which, to a Latin buff, is paramount to scraping fingernails across a blackboard). And the license he allowed the soloists insofar as embellishment was heinous. Shaw's work with the tutti orchestra+choir movements was very good, but those solos--and the over-romanticized cast--were enough to knock his recording out of the running. Which left Jeremy Summerly's performance...



Summerly is, in my opinion, almost spot-on with his interpretation of the entire work. However, I must be critical of some (admittedly small) issues: The Gloria and its mirror movement, the Quoniam, are a bit slow. Conversely, the Gratias agimus tibi goes by like a race car. At the end of the Cum Sancto, the orchestra is a bit loud in repect to the chorus, and I believe this entire movement is a little messy. Every so often, I hear a "Day-yo" or two on "Deo", but it's minor. Also, the soprano soloist--whom I had thought was refreshingly good in comparison to those I had heard in other recordings--turned out to have done her best work in the first one minute of every movement. She is average at best; she suffers from that which too many "professional" singers do: she drowns the melody in excessive vibrato and embellishment, thus totally obscuring that minimally important thing called THE ACTUAL NOTES THE WAY THEY WERE WRITTEN, AND NOT A SPATE OF INCOHERENT WARBLING! WHY DO SO MANY SINGERS IMITATE THIS HORRIBLE SOUND?!



Rant aside, this recording is very good. The balance is almost perfect, the men section is spectacular, as is the alto soloist. She, unlike SO many others who have tried (and failed) to perform the eighth and tenth movements in a satisfactory manner, does NOT sound like she is trying to swallow her tongue. Nor does she produce the fuzzy, muffled, and ugly sound many altos produce (actually contrive; it's not a natural sound, but it's what the classical critics descended from mon height expect and encourage); she has a beautiful, clear, open tone which soars. What's more, she sings almost purely (no annoying warbling...er, vibrato). Her "e's" and particularly her "i's" still sometimes bear that nasty "tongue-swallowing" timbre, but the rest of her performance makes up for it: she is simply stunning.



The non-solo movements are, on the whole, marvelously performed. Each section is entirely in tune with itself, and all the sections are in tune with each other and the accompaniment. The purity and depth of this group is astounding; one cannot help but be impressed with the musical ability of the entire group as a whole. Even so, the men are a standout. Both the tenors and the basses are tightly unified, and the tenor section in particular is refreshing in that it does not sound so horribly immature (so many tenor sections sound underdeveloped). And the soprano section...it has a tone which is almost like the heavenly timbre of a boys choir: clear, penetrating, just wonderful.



Last but not least, the recording quality is supurb. Generally DDD (digital all the way down the line) recording creates harsh, aniceptic, brittle, and basically unmusical recordings. This is not at all the case with this particular DDD recording: it sounds as full and rich as a fine analog reel tape, yet without the noise and the tone-coloring analog always imparts. The energy and intensity of the performance are preserved, as is the warmth and depth of the sound. And this is from equipment which was in use in 1993, only ten years after digital technology had first been used. This is impressive because I've heard DDD from that time period: most of it is awful.



All in all, I gave this album four stars because, though it has many very good elements, it's not perfect. However, it's the closest to what I have been searching for in an interpretation. Others will disagree, of course. That is a matter of personal opinion. I for one am very happy with my purchase."

Magnificent!

Squonk | 06/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is a shame that Vivaldi's sacred music is not better known. Everyone knows the GLORIA, and it is a fine work. But the BEATUS VIR is fantastic, with its haunting refrain, "Beatus vir qui timet Dominum", which unifies the whole work. Great music, fine performances, interesting program notes - and at this price, how can you lose?"

By far the best interpretation (IMO)

Gilles Belin | Seattle, WA USA | 06/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This interpretation of Gloria by Oxford Schola Cantorum / Northern Chamber Orchestra is by far the most powerful and inspiring.



The other editions I'm comparing it to are :

Christ Church Cathedral Choir / The Hanover Band

and the one by The Symphony Of Harmony And Invention



"