There are already at
least two series of Vivaldi’s sacred
music on-going. Robert King and his
King’s Consort are recording for Hyperion
and Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto
Italiano for Opus 111. The Opus 111
set covers more than just sacred music;
it is a brave attempt to encompass all
of Vivaldi’s music that is held in manuscript
in the National University Library in
Turin.
Now, the Canadian-based
Aradia Ensemble have recorded a disc
of Vivaldi’s sacred music for Naxos.
This is billed as volume 1 of a collection
of sacred music. Rather enterprisingly,
as the centre-piece of this disc the
group features the lesser known of Vivaldi’s
settings of the Gloria. This is combined
with the second of his Dixit Dominus
settings and the solo motet, ‘Nulla
in mundo pax sincera’. All the pieces
on this disc date from the period after
1713, when Vivaldi started writing sacred
music for the Pieta because of the departure
of the maestro di coro, Gasparini. This,
of course, leads to the eternally fascinating
question of whether any of these pieces
were performed at the Pieta. Andrew
Parrott has recorded the more well known
Gloria with just female chorus (transposing
the men’s parts up an octave), but here
Kevin Mallon wisely sticks to a more
traditional allocation of parts.
The Dixit Dominus,
K595 is scored for two oboes, trumpet,
strings and continuo with five soloists
(two sopranos, alto, tenor and bass)
and five-part chorus. The recording
opens in fine fashion with a crisp introduction
from the Aradia Ensemble, full of rhythmic
bounce and fine, decisive singing from
their chorus. The forces used are relatively
small, choir of fifteen and just twelve
strings so their style is light, crisp
and incisive. The first soprano aria
is delightfully sung by the soprano
soloist (either Jane Archibald or Michele
de Boer - the booklet is vague on this
issue) and the two of them combine beautifully
for their duet. Both soloists have a
pleasant vibrato which adds warmth to
their voices, but which can lead to
a certain fuzziness when the vocal line
becomes more elaborate, as in the second
soprano solo. The solo trumpet which
leads into the aria, ‘Judicabit in nationibus’
leads us to expect great things but
mezzo-soprano Anita Krause has a voice
whose timbre and use of vibrato does
not lend itself well to music of this
period. She acquits herself creditably,
but I would have liked more edge and
far more sense of line; something that
the counter-tenor, tenor and bass soloists
bring to the delightful trio setting
of Gloria patri.
The motet, ‘Nulla in
mundo pax sincera’, is written for solo
soprano, strings and continuo with an
anonymous text. It is a delightful piece,
with a Siciliano opening movement that
evokes sacred peace. The temptations
of the world are described in the recitative
and this is followed by an elaborate
da capo aria and a concluding Alleluia.
Soprano Jane Archibald is well supported
by the lively accompaniment of the Aradia
Ensemble. Here, as in all the pieces
on the disc, Kevin Mallon’s speeds are
well chosen. Archibald has a fine sense
of style in this music, but there were
occasions when I felt her upper register
came under strain.
The Gloria has elements
which remind you of the more well known
version. It is performed with its Introduzion,
‘Jubilate, o amoeni chori’, a lively
da capo aria for the soprano soloist
(Jane Archibald), followed by a recitative
and linking passage leading to the opening
movement of the Gloria. Archibald’s
contribution is perhaps not quite technically
brilliant enough to make up for the
twinge of disappointment one can feel
at the lack of a good choral opening.
This is more than made up for in the
choir’s fine contribution to the first
movement of the Gloria proper. But in
the ‘Et in Terra pax’, the choir’s vivacity
and liveliness cannot quite compensate
for a lack of suaveness in the descending
passages. Again the two soprano soloists
have a lovely duet and both the tenor
(Nils Brown) and mezzo-soprano (Anita
Krause) have solo contributions. Brown
acquits himself well, but I had the
same doubts about Krause as I did in
the Dixit Dominus.
For anyone wanting
to start exploring the byways of Vivaldi’s
sacred music, this disc would make an
excellent start. The Aradia Ensemble
are fine stylists and the results are
lively attractive performances. The
choir are a small, focused group but
there are only fifteen of them and the
tone in the tenors and altos can get
a little nasal and lacking in amplitude.
Just occasionally, though, I missed
the polish, intensity and depth of sound
that characterises the recordings of
this repertoire on Hyperion and Opus
111. On this disc, vitality is coupled
with a directness and occasional, appealing
rawness, whereas both Robert King and
Rinaldo Alessandrini manage to combine
intensity with liveliness and a smooth
sophistication. And their soloists,
are frankly, a cut above those on this
disc, though the Canadians acquit themselves
more than creditably.
But, of course, none
of the discs are completely comparable
when it comes to repertoire. Anyone
wanting the Dixit Dominus, RV595 and
Gloria, RV 588 in Robert King’s performances
would have to look to two discs, each
with its own delightful selection from
Vivaldi’s lovely sacred music. The answer
is not to hesitate; at super-budget
price we can just go out and buy this
disc as well.
Robert Hugill