*** 140g BioVinyl LP ***

Audiophile-quality LP transfer of two Monteverdi Masses from an acclaimed complete survey of the composer’s vocal music.

While the Vespers of 1610 remain the most celebrated example of his application of madrigal-style writing to music for the church, Monteverdi continued to compose liturgical music in older styles, such as the two Masses presented on this LP.

In 1641, late in his career and life, Monteverdi published the Selva Morale e Spirituale as a compilation of sacred works which he had composed while serving as maestro di cappella at St. Mark’s Basilica over the previous three decades.

The Selva morale collection includes the Messa a quattro voci, scored for four unaccompanied voices. Meanwhile the Messa in illo tempore was published in the same 1610 collection as the Vespers.

In practice, the earlier work owes more to the polyphonic style raised to a sinuous perfection in earlier generations by the likes of Palestrina, whereas the Messa a quattro voci shares with the Vespers a beguiling variety of idioms embracing strict counterpoint and free madrigalian writing.

Gramophone praised Krijn Koetsveld’s direction for its ‘nuanced chiaroscuro… supple fluency and stylish embellishments’ in this music; the singers deliver performances informed by familiarity with the whole of Monteverdi’s concerted music, both sacred and secular, and they are recorded within a spacious but clear Dutch church acoustic which blooms attractively on this LP transfer.