This was without doubt a defining performance of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers. With I Fagiolini and the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble at the helm, this Kings Place evening promised much, but I was unprepared for just how exceptional this would prove to be.
The function of the work is the subject of much debate, and whether it was ever performed in full is uncertain. The original publication comprised a Mass, the Psalms, Hymns and two Magnificats for a Vespers service, plus four sacred songs. Complicating factors include liturgical order and matching the Psalms to Feast Days. Some argue that the variety of styles was Monteverdi’s attempt to impress Rome. There are also many performance issues, such as pitch, and deciding the relationships between duple and triple rhythms, the latter apparently keeping conductor Robert Hollingworth awake at night!
However, all that uncertainty and confusion was swept aside on Friday evening. Instrumentation choices gave variety, with Lynda Sayce and William Lyons switching from chitarrone and dulcian to recorders and flutes, even in the same movement (the Magnificat). The continuo included two chitarroni and harp, Kinga Ujszászi led the bright and lively string band, and the ECSE's vibrant cornett flourishes and rich sackbut tones added glorious colour. Hollingworth made effective use of spatial effects, with the brass and strings sometimes in the gallery above the stage, and singers and/or cornetts placed offstage or at the back of the auditorium.
Due to a line-up change, some solo songs were swapped, although you would never have known it. Tenor Nicholas Mulroy was the star of the evening, his Nigra sum, accompanied by Aileen Henry on harp, was simply stunning, with intense passion, richness in the bass range, and incredibly controlled decresdendi on “veni”. Fellow tenor Matthew Long’s Audi coelum was captivating, with delicately matched offstage echoes from Mulroy, and their Duo Seraphim was frankly astonishing, with wrenching suspensions and startling, stuttering ornaments, perfectly matched one after the other. Baritone Greg Skidmore also deserves mention for his explosive contribution to the latter part of Duo Seraphim, as well as his dramatic Glorias. Julia Doyle and Ciara Hendrick shared Sancta Maria’s solo line from either side of the stage, the band in between, with playfully skittering violins, dancing cornetts and sackbuts, and Hollingworth making perfect sense of those duple–triple transitions.
The one-to-a-part singing throughout felt so right, giving freedom in the more ‘choral’ psalms for clarity of detail as well as more expressive communication of the text. The Kings Place’s clean acoustic washed away any soupiness that larger venues can create, delivering revelatory clarity throughout. Individuality of voices could also shine, avoiding the relentlessly uniform but predictable blend that other consorts strive for. The singers were constantly alive to duos or trios within the textures, responding to each other and clearly enjoying when their lines came together. This was especially noticeable in Laudate pueri, and the marrying of soloistic and ensemble singing brought the music (which can end up slightly stodgy in a fuller choral performance) alive. There was rich ensemble singing for “ut collocet”, and a ringing Gloria, before the two tenors were left alone for their rippling ornamented final Amen. A special performance that will not be forgotten.
