RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741)
Laudate!
Sinfonia in D, RV125 [6:40]
Ascende laeta, RV635 [8:25]
Juditha Triumphans RV644: Vivat in pace [3:46]; Transit aetas [4:17]; Umbrae carae [5:33]
O qui coeli terraeque serenitas, RV631 [13:30]
Sinfonia “Al Santo Sepolcro”, RV169 [3:46]
Laudate pueri in C minor, RV600 [24:45]
Johannette Zomer (soprano)
Tulipa Consort
rec. November 2015, Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam
CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS38216 [71:40]
The Tulipa Consort, making its CD début here, is unusual in
that it is an instrumental ensemble formed by a singer. Johanette Zomer tells
us that, tired of having to make difficult artistic compromises with conductors,
she decided to create her own hand-picked body of players to allow her “artistic
freedom from the very beginning”. If that sounds like the utterances
of a true diva, determined to guarantee herself top-billing and to be sure
of showing her voice off to its fullest unimpeded by the artistic sensibilities
of others, the evidence of this CD could not be more contrary.
An all-Vivaldi programme built around the extended C minor setting of Psalm
113, Laudate pueri, certainly provides her with ample scope to demonstrate
her undoubted excellence as a singer of this repertory, full, as it is, of
brisk, virtuosic runs (which she executes with hugely impressive agility and
clarity of articulation), demandingly high tessitura (which she manages with
precision and wonderfully clear focus), quasi-dramatic recitatives (which
she delivers with a great deal of poise) and long-breathed arioso lines (which
she caresses with consummate care, notably in the serene Largo movement of
the motet O qui coeli terraeque serenitas). But there is much more
to it than merely a vehicle to display a voice singularly well-equipped to
perform Baroque music.
For a start, there is an empathy between singer and instrumentalists which
results in a singularly effective unity of tone and integration of line, and
this clearly stems not just from the instrumentalists’ clear understanding
of the voice but, more particularly, the singer’s innate sense of the
instrumental texture. She integrates with the instruments in a way which is
rare indeed and makes for some utterly captivating performances; not least
the enchanting duet with mandolin (Michiel Niessen) in the delicate aria “Transit
aetas” from Vivaldi’s only surviving oratorio, Juditha
triumphans.
More than that, however, this is far from being a mere collection of numbers
from Vivaldi works featuring the soprano voice. The disc opens with the purely
instrumental Sinfonia in D (RV125), one of Vivaldi’s classic fast-slow-fast
concertos for four-part string orchestra. The advantages of a singer/director
are immediately obvious in a performance which has an almost vocal sense of
line. Those of us who have spent years teaching young instrumentalists to
think how they would sing a line before playing it on their instrument, will
find here full justification for this approach; how much more coherent and
satisfying this performance is simply because there is such logic and naturalness
to the phrasing. These aspects of the Tulipa Consort’s playing are even
more vividly highlighted in the exotic two-movement Sinfonia “Al
Santo Sepolcro”, the other wholly instrumental item on this disc
of unexpected treasures.
Clemens Romijn’s eminently readable and informative notes remind us
that, until 1939, Vivaldi’s music for the church was “one of the
best-kept secrets of music history”. Since then, among the works which
have established their place in the repertory is the first of three (possibly
four) settings of the text Laudate pueri. Possibly the pure and mellifluous
voice of Mhairi Lawson (Avie AV2063 - review)
gives more sincerity, if rather less drama than Zomer, but while Lawson is
supported by the splendid period-instrument ensemble La Serenissima under
Adrian Chandler, the sense of total integration between instruments and voice
in Zomer’s account gives it the edge, and makes this a truly wonderful
CD to add to the already impressive discography of Vivaldi’s sacred
works. May we hear a lot more of Zomer and her Tulipa Consort in the years
ahead.
Marc Rochester
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