04 Oct 2008
Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610
Armonico Consort
Shrewsbury Abbey

Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 is one of the great liturgical musical works of the 17th century and its performance on authentic instruments is a rare treat. The Armonico Consort together with the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble directed by Christopher Monks gave their own interpretation of this work in Shrewsbury Abbey on Saturday as part of the Shropshire Music trust season.

The brass playing was faultless with the authentic sound of cornets and sackbuts complementing the voices perfectly whether as a restrained accompaniment or in the bravura flourishes that so characterise this period of the early baroque. The Abbey's acoustics are ideally suited to such a noble liturgical work and the female voices were a delight with clear articulation and vocal range. It was rather unfortunate that the undoubtedly skilled tenors and basses had such a degree of vibrato, generally sparing of use at this period, as to make the text virtually redundant at times.

For a performance on original instruments a full complement is needed. Two violins and one cello were insufficient string sound for this ensemble in this venue – indeed, at times the chorus sounded unaccompanied. Similarly, to rely solely on one theorbo (bass lute) for the bass line was being optimistic as well as restricting in the required range. Surely a bass viol and possibly a curtal is an essential part of the orchestration?

This was a performance of a great work by excellent musicians with some very good aspects but whether it was the sound, balance and at times the speed that the composer envisaged has to be questioned.

The next Trust concert is on October 26 with the Black Dyke Band in St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury

 Andrew Petch

Last Updated : 25/11/2008