Totally absorbed by a 2 DVD set, Claudio Monteverdi, Vespro Della Beata Vergine, 2014 recording, Sir John Eliot Gardiner,
The Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloistsl - the second DVD is also a blue-ray disc of the performance at the Chapelle Royale du Chateau de Versailles - and what a setting, 'the personification of absolute perfection'
JEG also contributes a fascinating six page feature on his understanding and experience of the work which he first heard on the radio as an undergraduate at King's in 1957, a performance at York Minster, also indelible in my memory as I attended the afternoon run-through; LSO/Walter Goehr and my intro to the voice of counter-tenor, Alfred Deller. A hypnotic occasion.
Forty+ years later, I was gratified to acquire Sir John's revelatory performance at St Mark's and, later, a 2010 Proms performance - with the bonus of subtitles - now transferred to DVD from an off-air video. However, the 2014 performance is intended as a celebration given on the exact date of the 50th anniversary of his first performance with the Monteverdi Choir in 1964. He discusses the learning curve of his research in the between-years and itemises at least six other performances under his direction; any thesp with stage experience understands the value of eye contact in any ensemble and the energy quotient it releases, and JG's smile, or exchange of affection with his performers is touching to see. At a subsequent viewing, I was also captivated by the sheer sensibility of the camera team as they and the editor varied the timing of many panning shots to match the tempo of the performance. Lots of similar small pleasures throughout.
JEG concludes:
"Another challenge for any conductor of this work is how to maintain a purposeful overall control of the sequence of those thirteen mesmerising movements, making room for the complexity of Monteverdi's musical thought - the subtlety of its form and the staggering variety and beauty of its expression - to register with the listeners..."
105 magical minutes!
The Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloistsl - the second DVD is also a blue-ray disc of the performance at the Chapelle Royale du Chateau de Versailles - and what a setting, 'the personification of absolute perfection'
JEG also contributes a fascinating six page feature on his understanding and experience of the work which he first heard on the radio as an undergraduate at King's in 1957, a performance at York Minster, also indelible in my memory as I attended the afternoon run-through; LSO/Walter Goehr and my intro to the voice of counter-tenor, Alfred Deller. A hypnotic occasion.
Forty+ years later, I was gratified to acquire Sir John's revelatory performance at St Mark's and, later, a 2010 Proms performance - with the bonus of subtitles - now transferred to DVD from an off-air video. However, the 2014 performance is intended as a celebration given on the exact date of the 50th anniversary of his first performance with the Monteverdi Choir in 1964. He discusses the learning curve of his research in the between-years and itemises at least six other performances under his direction; any thesp with stage experience understands the value of eye contact in any ensemble and the energy quotient it releases, and JG's smile, or exchange of affection with his performers is touching to see. At a subsequent viewing, I was also captivated by the sheer sensibility of the camera team as they and the editor varied the timing of many panning shots to match the tempo of the performance. Lots of similar small pleasures throughout.
JEG concludes:
"Another challenge for any conductor of this work is how to maintain a purposeful overall control of the sequence of those thirteen mesmerising movements, making room for the complexity of Monteverdi's musical thought - the subtlety of its form and the staggering variety and beauty of its expression - to register with the listeners..."
105 magical minutes!