Monteverdi Vespers
An intimate and audacious new take on Monteverdi’s Vespers performed by this dynamic ensemble
La Nuova Musica
David Bates conductor
Joanne Lunn soprano
Julia Doyle soprano
Ben Johnson tenor
Benjamin Hulett tenor
Alessandro Fischer tenor
An ensemble of startling verve and versatility, La Nuova Musica has established a reputation as one the most dynamic consorts around. Now it provides a bold new take on Monteverdi’s monumental masterpiece the Vespro della Beata Vergine, a feast of sacred music unrivalled in the repertoire.
Relishing the worldly texts which Monteverdi chose to punctuate the psalm settings of the vespers, music director David Bates further blurs the boundaries between the sacred and the secular by adding other erotically charged works, including madrigals and excerpts from Monteverdi’s opera L’incoronazione di Poppea. The result usurps the religious nature of the piece to achieve something closer to the Renaissance synergy of heart, mind and body that would have been familiar to Monteverdi and his patrons.
This audacious but historically appropriate interpretation, using just ten solo singers and continuo players, revels in vocal virtuosity and the intimacy of sacred storytelling.
‘La Nuova Musica [is] as lively a collection of instrumentalists and singers as the world offers’ The Times
Livestream: Monteverdi Vespers
Livestream: Isata Kanneh-Mason
