Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers (2010)
The resonant reaches of the Washington National Cathedral provide a magnificent venue for Claudio Monteverdi’s timeless masterpiece Vespers of the Blessed Virgin, published in Venice in 1610. Monteverdi, a master of both old and avant-garde style, composed a work both retrospective and startlingly new—the grand Psalm settings are meditations on the age-old Gregorian chants, and the “sacred songs” are Monteverdi’s bold introduction of the latest theatrical style to liturgical music. Unlike most modern performances of the Vespers, Folger Consort’s period version, without conductor, features one-on-a-part instrumentalists and vocal soloists who also serve as the choir. Folger Consort performed Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers from January 8th to January 9th, 2010, at the Washington National Cathedral.
Artists
Folger Consort
Artistic Directors
- Robert Eisenstein
- Christopher Kendall
Guest artists
Voices
- Johana Arnold: soprano
- Peter Becker: baritone
- Francois Loup: baritone
- Dustin Lucas: tenor
- Michael McCarthy: baritone
- Ann Monoyios: soprano
- Robert Petillo: tenor
- Lawrence Reppert: tenor
- Aaron Sheehan: tenor
- Matthew Smith: tenor
Orchestra
- Julie Andrijeski: violin
- Risa Browder: viola
- Michael Collver: cornetto
- Robert Eisenstein: violin
- Nina Falk: violoa
- Christopher Kendall: theorbo
- John Moran: cello
- J. Tracy Mortimore: violone
- Mack Ramsey: trombone, cornetto
- William Simms: theorbo
- Dan Stillman: trombone
- Kiri Tollaksen: cornetto
- Webb Wiggins: organ
- Tom Zajac: trombone