Five essential works by Monteverdi
We choose the best works by the great 17th-century composer, Monteverdi
Monteverdi Vespers
Pomp and splendour are the abiding impressions left by this collection of music, which uses a variety of theatrical effects from its very opening fanfare onwards.
Recommended recording:
Gabrieli Consort & Players/Paul McCreesh
Archiv 477 6147
Monteverdi Madrigals, Book 5
He became more and more daring in his madrigals, giving increasing importance to the words and their meaning which he underscored with daring dissonances.
Recommended recording:
Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo Alessandrini
Naïve OP 30445
Monteverdi Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
The first audience of this work – neither quite madrigal nor opera – is said to have been reduced to tears by its expressiveness in depicting the central duel.
Recommended recording:
Rolando Villazón, Patrizia Ciofi; Le Concert d’Astrée/Emmanuelle Haïm
Virgin 363 3502
Monteverdi Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Ulysses returns from the Trojan Wars and must prove himself in a contest to win back his wife Penelope.
Recommended recording:
Christoph Prégardien, Bernarda Fink; Concerto Vocale/René Jacobs
Harmonia Mundi HML 5901427-9
Coronation of Poppea
Monteverdi’s last and greatest opera ends with a sensual duet between the immoral Nero and his mistress Poppea.
Recommended recording:
Sylvia McNair, Anne Sofie von Otter; English Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner
Archiv 447 0882
