CHRISTMAS IN VENICE GIOVANNI GABRIELI GIOVANNI BASSANO CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI. Monteverdi Choir Philip Jones Brass Ensemble John Eliot Gardiner

Transcription

1 Eloq uence CHRISTMAS IN VENICE GIOVANNI GABRIELI GIOVANNI BASSANO CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI Monteverdi Choir Philip Jones Brass Ensemble John Eliot Gardiner

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3 GIOVANNI GABRIELI (c.1553/6-1612) 1 Canzona Sol sol la sol 1 37 Canzona for 2 four-part brass choirs 2 Audite principes 7 01 (Reliquae sacrorum concentuum, pub. 1615) Motet for 3 choirs: Choir I: SSATB, trumpet, 2 oboes, cor anglais, bassoon Choir II: ATTB, 3 bassoons, cello, double bass Choir III: SSATTB, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones GIOVANNI BASSANO (c ) 3 Hodie Christus natus est 2 29 (Concerti ecclesiastici II, 1599) Motet for 2 choirs (a cappella) Choir I: SSA Choir II: SATB GIOVANNI GABRIELI (c.1553/6-1612) 4 Angelus ad pastores 2 11 (Concerti per voci e stromenti musicali, 1587) Motet for 2 six-part choirs Choir I: SSAATB Choir II: Alto solo (Charles Brett), cor anglais, 4 bassoons 5 Quem vidistis, pastores? (Symphoniae sacrae II, pub. 1615) Motet for 2 seven-part choirs Choir I: ATB, trumpet, 2 trombones, bassoon Choir II: TTB, trumpet, 2 trombones, bassoon Soloists: Charles Brett, alto Philip Langridge, tenor Martyn Hill, tenor Continuo: cello, double bass, chitarrone, 2 organs

4 6 Salvator noster 6 05 (Symphoniae sacrae II, pub. 1615) Motet for 3 five-part choirs Choir I: SSATB, trumpet, cor anglais, 2 bassoons Choir II: SATTB, trumpet, bassoon, cello, double bass Choir III: Alto solo (John Angelo Messana), 4 trombones 7 Sonata pian e forte 4 35 (Symphoniae sacrae I, 1597) Sonata for 2 four-part brass choirs 8 O magnum mysterium 4 41 (Concerti per voci e stromenti musicali, 1587) Motet for 2 four-part choirs Choir I: SATB Choir II: Alto solo (John Angelo Messana), 4 trombones, double bass, chitarrone CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI ( ) 9 Exultent caeli 7 43 (Quarta Raccolta di Sacri Canti Lorenzo Calvi, 1629) Cantada for five-part choir: 2 trumpets, 3 trombones Soloists: John Angelo Messana, alto Martyn Hill, tenor Continuo: cello, organ, chitarrone 0 Magnificat (Vespro della Beata Vergine, 1610) Soloists: Jill Gomez, soprano Felicity Palmer, soprano James Bowman, countertenor Robert Tear, tenor Philip Langridge, tenor John Shirley-Quirk, baritone Michael Rippon, bass Continuo: Malcolm Hicks, organ 590 Richard Seal, organ 5 Alistair Ross, organ 0 Nicholas Kraemer, harpsichord 0 Robert Spencer, lute 0

5 James Tyler, chitarrone 59 Jennifer Ward Clarke, cello 590 Rodney Slatford, double bass 5 Philip Jones Wind Ensemble 2456 Monteverdi Orchestra 0 David Munrow Recorder Ensemble 0 Salisbury Cathedral Boys Choir 0 Monteverdi Choir Philip Jones Brass Ensemble John Eliot Gardiner Performing editions by John Eliot Gardiner Total timing: 67 47

6 Jean-Baptiste Duval of the Venetian Republic s French Embassy records that on Christmas Eve 1607, Midnight Mass in St. Mark s was celebrated by the light of more than one thousand candles, sixty huge torches and silver lamps. He counted no less than eight choirs of voices and instruments sounding back and forth across the gilded vaults from the high organ-galleries and the pulpit below. At Mass on Christmas Day the accompaniment was provided by two organs and several other instruments, notably trombones, cornetti and violins blending with the voices of the singers. Duval was too caught up in the ceremony to tell us who composed this magnificent music, but we may reasonably assume that the Christmas music he heard was by one of the resident musicians at St. Mark s possibly the maestro di cappella, Giovanni Croce, but more likely the first organist, Giovanni Gabrieli, to whom Croce tended to leave the composition of music for the big festivals. It might also have been by Giovanni Bassano who was in charge of the instrumental ensemble at St. Mark s, and the composer of the vivacious motet for Christmas Day, Hodie Christus natus est. The elaborate civic ceremonies and state processions of the Venetian Republic, and the many religious festivals each year all demanded suitable music. Wind instruments, particularly trumpets, contributed a great deal to the brilliance of outdoor processions (Gabrieli s festive Canzona: Sol sol la sol was written for such an occasion), and it was not long before they were being used with increasing frequency inside St. Mark s. At Christmas time it seems that extra wind players were hired, for according to the bursar s accounts of 1602, ten additional players were booked to play alongside the six permanent members of the ensemble. The first duty of the instrumentalists was to play in consort during the services, alternating with the two organs and the choristers. In this context, Gabrieli s celebrated Sonata pian e forte must have created an imposing effect as, like its title suggests, it resounded now quietly, now loudly through the Basilica. Though not specifically a Christmas piece, its mood bears an affinity to O magnum mysterium (which describes the mystery of the Incarnation), and its sombre brooding harmonies suggest that it may have been reserved for the most solemn moment of the Mass the Elevation of the Eucharist when it was customary to play una suonata grave. At Mass on Christmas Day, it seems certain

7 that the players would also have combined with the choirs, and it was for this rich mixed ensemble of up to sixteen wind plus the expanded choir of 35 (in addition to the continuo) that the Christmas motets on this recording were composed. The exact scoring and the distribution of the singers are not specified, but this is not to suggest that the composers did not have very definite tone colours in mind for each work. Quite simply, the composers wished their work to be as widely disseminated as possible which meant that flexibility was necessary in order to allow for performances at other establishments with lesser resources. Occasionally a composer did specify the instrumentation, and such a work is Gabrieli s Quem vidistis, pastores. This cantata-like work is exceptional, for there are written-out parts for eight obbligato wind instruments who play an extended sinfonia before the entry of voices. In the other pieces, Gabrieli s obvious absorption with colour and sonority calls for a different treatment of each. Thus on this recording wind instruments have been used in place of the vocal lines in the two earliest motets: trombones on the lowest lines in O magnum mysterium, and lighter pastoral woodwind for the rhythmic exchanges of Angelus ad pastores. In each case a solo voice has been left within the instrumental choir to enunciate the words. The rich texture of the two grandest pieces seems to demand strongly contrasted instrumental doubling of all three choirs: in Audite principes with its rousing appeal addressed directly to the Doge and the whole congregation, and in the fanfare-like opening and the florid duet which concludes Salvatore noster. In 1613, Claudio Monteverdi arrived in Venice from Mantua to take up the post of maestro di cappella at St. Mark s. His appointment was chiefly as a consequence of the strength of his Vespers of 1610 which had been published in Venice. Although Giovanni Gabrieli was dead and the tradition of writing for divided choirs was all but spent, the absorption with tone colours remained, and through the strong influence of Monteverdi s secular style, Venetian church music developed along new lines. Monteverdi s motet for the Annunciation Exultent caeli is in the form of a miniature cantata and with its intense, romantic and utterly individual style, reveals an expressive power far beyond Gabrieli s. The Magnificat from the Vespro della Beata Vergine of 1610

8 is the apotheosis of Monteverdi s mixture of old and new. It is the most varied setting of the Magnificat of its time and its emotional splendour sums up the whole of this profound and spectacular work. DECCA

9 Recording producers: Michael Woolcock (1-9); James Mallinson (10) Recording engineers: James Lock (1-9); Kenneth Wilkinson, Colin Moorfoot (10) Recording locations: Kingsway Hall, London, UK, April 1972 (1-9), St. Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, UK, January 1974 (10) Eloquence series manager: Cyrus Meher-Homji Art direction: Chilu Booklet editor: Bruce Raggatt

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