Luogo e data di registrazione		Casino Zögernitz, Vienna (Austria) - 1/12 Ottobre 1966
	Registrazione: live / studio		studio
	Producer		Wolf Erichson
	Prima Edizione LP		Telefunken "Das Alte Werk" | SAWT 9501/02-A (Stereo) - AWT 9501/02-A (Mono) | 2 LPs - durata 53' 13" - 44' 21" | (p) 1968 | ANA
	Edizione CD		Teldec Classics "Das Alte Werk" | LC 6019 | 4509-92175-2 | 2 CDs - durata 53' 13" - 44' 21" | (c) 1993 | ADD
	Cover		El Greco (1541-1614) "Krönung Mariens", Prado, Madrid.
	Note		-

The Instrumentation and Sound-Character of Monteverdi’s Vespers of the Blessed Virgin The Development of Instrumental Style in Italy The form of the instrumental canzona arose in the 16th century, particularly in Italy through Netherlands musicians living there, and was later extended not only formally but also in its sound by the Venetian circle around the two Gabrielis. If the first “ricercari”, as these canzonas were first called, such as those of Willaert and Palestrina were primarily recognizable as instrumental music through their lack of a text, being written in the fully imitatory style of the vocal music of that time, the masters associated with Gabrieli had already developed a large number of purely instrumental flourishes and motifs, a vocabulary of purely instrumental, textless dialogue that clearly distinguishes genuine instrumental music from vocal music. In the first years of the 17th century there are already works to be found with concrete, even if never binding suggestions for instrumentation, and one can already distinguish typical “wind” and “string” figures. The use of two or more choirs - a specially Venetian achievement in the handling of sound - through which the entire space of the church was clad in song from all sides as it were (living stereophony in the 17th century!), was also applied in purely instrumental music. Instrumental canzonas were composed in which two or more groups made music together in dialogue style. These groups were separated spatially on the one hand, and on the other contrasted in their sound through their consisting of wind and strings respectively. All these newly-discovered possibilities of instrumental music-making were incorporated into vocal music in great polychoral motets, in the first place by Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli. It had already been the practice to let instruments occasionally double the vocal parts, it is true, but this was now something quite different: through the most manifold combinations of choirs and solo singers with instruments, the various groups were to bring a colourfulness and variety into this spatial music that had never yet been heard. Works of Art in Honour of the Virgin Mary These were the latest achievements in church music when Monteverdi wrote his Vespers of the Blessed Virgin in Mantua. Works of art in honour of the Mother of God had, from earliest times, occupied an exceptional place. In religious painting, musical instruments played by angels were already depicted at a time when they were by no means officially permitted in church. It is obvious, however, that many of these pictures do not represent any truly possible “church concerts”, but are meant allegorically; very often it is the most usual instrumental combinations of secular music that are shown in these pictures. This is a genuine parallel to “Marian music”, for compositions in honour of Mary, settings of texts for the Song of Solomon and similar works had, from the earliest times, been more “secular”, more passionate and more “modernly” laid out for their period than was church music in general, which was nearly always conservative in character. Even Palestrina, who had laid down the criteria for stylistically strict and officially prescribed church music a generation before Monteverdi, wrote in the preface to a collection of motets: “I have here turned my muse towards the poetry dedicated to the praise of the Holy Virgin, the Song of Solomon. In doing so, I have applied a more passionate style than in my other church music; this poetry seemed to me to demand this...”. Thus it is surely no mere chance that it is precisely in Marian vespers that, for the first time in musical history, the accustomed limitations of style and of sound were burst in every conceivable direction. In this revolutionary work, the new achievements of the modern Venetian instrumental music and the new operatic style, as yet but a few years old and in the formation of which Monteverdi himself played a decisive role, were applied for the first time in a large-scale sacred vocal work. Monteverdi’s Vespers Monteverdi was, as a matter of course, familiar with all the innovations in church music brought about by his colleagues in neighbouring Venice. He had been employed as a “Suonatore di Vivuola” by Vincenzo I Gonzago in Mantua since 1591, and had participated in many journeys undertaken by the ducal orchestra. Thus he had opportunity to compare for himself how music was performed elsewhere, and to receive new stimuli. His “Scherzi musicali” of 1607 are inspired by the French style; here he combines with the three voices three instruments (two violins and a chordal instrument), which play not only the “ritornelli” between the verses, but also “obligato” episodes during the singing. In Orfeo, his first opera (1607), he employs the iridescent palette of the Venetian canzona orchestra: the continuo group of organo di legno (a gentle-toned organ with pipes only of wood), harpsichord, regal, lute (chitarrone), harp and low string instruments, is joined by violins, viols, cornetts, trombones and trumpets. It is interesting in this connexion to note that Monteverdi, perhaps because he was himself a violinist, was the first to abandon the predominace of the wind instruments in the early baroque orchestra in favour of the strings. It is exactly this orchestra (the trumpets excepted) that Monteverdi uses in his Vespers of the Blessed Virgin; what is more, he lets almost the same independent Sonata be played by the instruments before the opening chorus “Domine ad adjuvandam me festina” as is played under the name Toccata at the beginning of Orfeo. Thus the parallel between the opera and the sacred work goes further than the fields of style and of sound; Monteverdi does not only introduce the operatic style into the church for the first time, but the operatic orchestra is presented here in all its splendour too, and in the very first piece with a quotation from Orfeo! In accordance with the practice of the age, the composer does not provide the interpreter with a full score ready for performance, neither can or will he do this, since it would restrict the variety of possibilities. On the one hand, every conductor, especially with a work published in print like the Marian Vespers, had to be able to adapt it to the prevailing local circumstances without violating the composer’s intentions; on the other, a richly equipped ensemble had to be able to put its possibilities to the fullest possible use and, not least, the greatest possible scope had to be left for the creative imagination of the individual musician and singer. We should remember that practically every good musician of that time was also a composer, and that free improvisation, even of music in several parts, was cultivated almost as a sport. Thus every performance of a large-scale work during that period would have had its own individual character. Sound-Character and Instrumentation The character of the sound of Monteverdi’s Marian Vespers and the tasks imposed by a realization of the work can only be understood and fulfilled in relation to its historical background. As a starting-point we must take Monteverdi’s own indications in the opening chorus, in the Sonata sopra “Sancta Maria ora pro nobis” and in the Magnificat, as well as the division into two spatially separated choirs that seems to be called for in certain parts of the work. In addition, contemporary descriptions give us accurate information on how such works were performed at the time and with what instruments, the utmost significance being attached to spatial positioning, particularly in such “theatrical” church music. The instrumentation selected for this performance of the work shall now be considered in detail. In the three parts of the vespers mentioned above, the following instruments are expressly asked for: two violini da brazzo (violins), four viuole da brazzo (a collective term for various string instruments from the size of a modern viola to a ’cello-like instrument, contrabasso da gamba (violone), three cornetti (cornetts), two flauti (recorders), two piffari (descant shawms), three trombones, organ. To this collection of instruments are added, in this performance, two more violins, two recorders and a few continuo instruments such as harpsichord, virginals, lute and dulcian. These are not specifically named in the first edition, but it is clear that the string instruments, for example, must be doubled in the choruses to match the size of the choir; furthermore it is a well-known fact that in such large works, particularly when laid out on a polychoral basis, a variety of continuo instruments had to be used, on the one hand in order to be able to place a foundation instrument with each choir, on the other in order to ensure the necessary contrast in tone. The many solos of monodic character demand a corresponding accompaniment; here the lute, being the instrument on which soloists accompanied themselves at that time, was almost of necessity the obvious choice in view of the rubato style of these monodies. In large-scale orchestrations with wind, corresponding wind instruments must also play the bass part with the organ and the harpsichord, even if not specifically asked for by the composer. This is confirmed by Praetorius in his Syntagma Musicum, 1618, which is almost entirely devoted to the performing practice of the Italian music modern at that time: “It must be especially noted that it is very good, even almost necessary, to let the said thorough-bass be played additionally by a wind instrument, such as the bassoon, dulcian or trombone or, what is best of all, a bass violin, which splendidly adorns and helps to strengthen the foundation”. Since the instrumental parts are printed separately in the choral part-books wherever they deviate from the vocal parts, we can assume that the same musicians also doubled the vocal parts whenever this was required by the conductor of a particular performance. Evidence of this is to be found in various places, such as the instruments suddenly being left on their own in the “ritornelli” of “Dixit Dominus”. Most of the choruses in the Vespers are laid out for a double choir; this means for the orchestra that its basic placing must support this double-choir character without the musicians having to change their places. Praetorius describes exactly how placing and performance of these polychoral works were conceived at that time: “...if, in a concert, cornetts are allotted to one choir, violins to another, trombones, bassoons, flutes and such instruments to a third...”, he finds it necessary that “...for one versicle viols, for another trombones, for a third flutes and bassoons could be used”. On the placing of the orchestra he says he has “... found it better to place and arrange the ‘capella fidicinum’ (string group) separately, somewhat on the side of the organ, so that the vocalists and instrumentalists... can be separately heard and distinguished from one another ... care must be taken that the ‘concentores’ (solo performers) are separated from each other, and that whenever possible a foundation instrument is provided for each choir; the ‘capellam fidicinam’, however, must be placed to one side, so that it can come to the aid of all the choirs...”. Thus, in this recording, the string section is placed front left as a basis, since it is normally allotted to the first choir, likewise placed on the left, the wind in groups (trombones, cornetts, flutes, descant shawms) on the right, corresponding to the second choir. Each choir has its own “foundation instrument”; on the left near the strings stands the large harpsichord with bass “fidel” and violone, in the middle the organ that unites all the forces, on the right, near the wind, the virginals with the dulcian. In the undivided choruses, of course, the entire orchestra is used in all its breadth; here the arrangement just described merely serves the purpose of clearly distinguishing the colours of the sound-palette from one another. This is the case in the opening chorus “Domine ad adjuvandum” with its parallel independent orchestral Sonata, in which all the instruments are used. In the sections of this in even numbers of beats to the bar, Monteverdi goes so far in imitating the sound of trumpets that he uses nothing but this instrument’s natural notes in six of the parts, so that they could be played by a sextet of trumpets; they are, however, played by cornetts, strings and trombones. That this is no mere chance can be seen from the orchestral “ritornelli” lying between these sections, in which no consideration is shown for the natural notes. And in order to make the contrast to the trumpet imitation quite clear, the cornetts are silent in these sections. Also undivided are the second chorus, “Dixit Dominus”, the chorus “Laetatus sum”, the choral section of the ninth movement “Audi coelum” and the beginning and end sections of the Magnificat. The instrumentation in these movements is intended, in the first place, to make clear the formal structure through colouring the choir in the manner of organ stops; in addition, figures that are in themselves primarily instrumental and thus difficult to sing are outlined clearly through being doubled by instruments (for example the almost unsingable dotted note repetitions at “Dominus a dextris tuis” in the second chorus). Some sections are accompanied, according to the nature of the music, either by strings alone, or only with wind instruments of various kinds, some also being sung without any instruments at all. And especially in homophonic, solemn sections such as the “et spiritui sancto” in “Laetatus sum” or the magnificent conclusions of “Dixit Dominus”, “Laetatus sum” and the Magnificat, the sound of the full string and wind orchestra can naturally lend splendour and brilliance to the whole. This full sound of the entire choir and orchestra is compared by Praetorius to that of the full organ: “When the whole orchestra plays, just as if all the stops join in on an organ, it then gives from itself an excellent adornment, splendour and display, and such harmony is fulfilled with still greater splendour if, at the same time, one ... allots bassoon, bass violin and other instruments to the middle and upper parts”. Delight in splendour of sound began to be a decisive factor in this period of the dawning baroque age. We thus find tone combinations described of solo instruments with vocal parts or of various instruments with one another, also in octaves, which promise particular effects. The use of the character of the sound as a means of expression had been discovered, though it was not applied primarily by the composer but by the performer. Such combinations have also been chosen for various solos and solo passages in the Vespers, where strings or flutes, or both together, double the soloists. Examples of this are “Virgam virtutis” or “juravit Dominus” in the second chorus where, after the line of the solo’singer, the beginning of the part-writing has been characterized in this manner, or at “plena est omnis terra” in “Duo Seraphim”. The significance of the instrumentation in organ-stop character is especially clear in “Laetatus sum”. In this piece, an eight-bar figure in crotchets (quarter notes), written just as if to suit the dulcian, recurs five times as if to express constancy. The choral passages lying between these are accompanied partly only by strings, partly by trombones and flutes, the “Gloria” by all together. The solos here are sung without doubling instruments. The double-choir movements are simpler in their instrumentation. In the ten-part “Nisi Dominus”, for instance, the allotting of the dark strings to the first choir and the bright flutes, the trombones and the dulcian to the second choir creates clarity also where the two choirs sing and play together, rhythmically interwoven. Or again in the eight-part “Ave Maris stella”, in which the strings again accompany the first choir, piffaro, recorder and three trombones the second choir. This principle has also been retained in the “ritornelli”, the first of which was played by the strings as belonging to the first choir, the second by a quartet of recorders with dulcian bass belonging to the second choir. (Praetorius says of this combination: “. . . if one now wants to employ a choir of flutes beside various other choirs with other instruments: I deem it better that the bass be given to a “fourth” trombone or, what is still more suitable, a bassoon [dulcian]”). The third repetition of the “ritornello” belongs to the first choir and is again played by strings, with embellishments in the first violin, and the fourth and last by strings and flutes together, the predominance of the second choir being established by the flute embellishments. In other “ritornelli” too, or in repetitions of choral passages, quasi-improvised embellishments were played wherever this seemed to be called for. A very special place is occupied in this work - also with regard to instrumentation- by the “Sonata” and the solo sections of the Magnificat. Here the instrumental part has already been taken so seriously and worked out in such detail by the composer that he himself has orchestrated the pieces with the greatest care, so meticulously in fact that it has been unnecessary to add anything else but the wind instrument reinforcing the “cantus firmus”. It is clear that in these pieces we are dealing with solos that on no accout must be doubled - as unfortunately usually happens today. The senselessness of doubling the violin parts, for instance, in the Sonata can be seen at once when one considers that the two violin parts and the two cornett parts correspond to one another and also alternate with each other in pairs in big solos; doubling of the violins would destroy this polarity. We are indeed today accustomed to hear solo wind contrasted with a large body of strings in the modern orchestra, but this relationship was completely unknown and also unnatural to the practice of that age, since soli could only be matched by soli, or it had to be a genuine solo-tutti effect such as, however, does not occur in this work. An interesting feature is the virtuosity demanded of instruments that are today quite ponderous, as the trombone for instance. The Sonata is a genuine instrumental dance (Intrada and Galliarda), to which the “cantus firmus” “sancta Maria ora pro nobis” is sung independently; in other words, the Sonata would be a complete piece of music even without it. In the solo pieces of the Magnificat - as in all the choruses built on one or more “canti firmi” - a trombone or other wind instrument plays the plainsong “cantus firmus” with the choristers, while the vocal and instrumental soloists sing or play their virtuoso solo parts against it. Instrumental and vocal pieces alternate constantly with one another: the “et exultavit” is a duet for two solo singers, the “quia respexit” an orchestral piece in which the main types of wind instrument are introduced in brief solo passages: piffari (double-reed instruments of oboe character), trombones (with cauldron-shaped mouthpiece) and recorders (labial pipes). The “quia fecit” is a solo for two singers and two violins, “et misericordia” a choral piece, “fecit potentiam”’, “deposuit” and “esurientes” are solos for violins and cornetts, “suscepit Israel” a vocal solo, “sicut locutus” a dialogue between violins and cornetts and “Gloria patri” a vocal solo. Tutti and solo sections are clearly recognizable in both the vocal and instrumental parts, their sequence being part of a magnificent plan in which interpretation of the text and dramatic contrasts of sound are the determining factors. This work of Monteverdi’s is, after all, incredibly theatrical, not only in its ingenious handling of sound, but also in authentic theatrical effects such as, for instance, the echoes in “audi coelum”, which are exploited not only musically but also textually in every possible way. The Instruments Since this recording was made entirely with original instruments, or faithful copies of these, and also since all questions of performing practice at that time have been taken into account as far as possible, it should correspond to the composer’s intentions to the highest possible degree. The instruments of that time are not, however, in general use any longer, and so it would appear desirable to describe them briefly in turn, also considering the opinion of a contemporary expert (Praetorius). The violin, called violino da braccio by Monteverdi, had been developed and tried out in folk music in the course of the 16th century. Now it was just beginning its grandiose career as the leading solo instrument and as the basis of the string orchestra. Externally it was already the same as the present-day violin - after all, violins of that time are still in use in modern concert life - but the entirely different internal structure, bass-bar, position of neck, bridge, strings and bow resulted in a fundamentally different tone. “...the ‘discant geig’, the violino of the Italians, wants to be given fine Passages, varying and lengthy schertzi, graceful accentuation, calm, long bow-strokes, gruppi, trilli etc..." . Viola is, in the 17th century, a collective term for a large number of instruments ranging in size from the viola to the ’cello; Monteverdi classifies this group together under the name “viuola da brazzo”. The same applies to the structure of this instrument as was said regarding the violin. For this recording two instruments could be used that must be considered a late form of the ancient “fidel”, and cannot be classed with either the violin or the gamba family. In their tone they are nearest to the old violas and cellos. Since they are of Italian origin, dating from the middle of the 16th century, they are probably the ideal instruments for the bass of the string group (still called viuola da brazzo by Monteverdi), which demands roughly the compass of a ’cello, and one of the middle parts. The other middle parts are played by a tenor violin (already described by Praetorius) and a viola da gamba. The violone, our present-day double-bass, was already generally tuned in fourths at that time. In order to bring out technical passages with clarity, it was then provided with frets, like the viola da gamba. “...the big bass violin, the violone of the Italians, moves with much gravity, enhances with its lovely resonance the harmony of the other parts.” The cornetts (Italian “cornetti”) are woodwind instruments, fingered in the manner of recorders but blown like trumpets, only with much smaller mouthpieces. They are among the most frequently used wind instruments of the 16th and 17th centuries. “...the cornetts are not to be used in quiet and gentle but above all be blended in great, resounding music...”. In the Vespers these instruments are called for both in “resounding” tuttis and in delicate solos, and we must assume that these parts were written for very good soloists. Praetorius emphasizes that special tasks may also be allotted to these instruments for the player “...who, however, can properly control and moderate his cornett, and is master of his instrument...”. The trombones of that period differ considerably from those in use today; they had a much narrower bore, and the bell-joint was much smaller. Consequently the tone was light on the one hand, blending wonderfully with the gentle string instruments of that time, and on the other it was very agile, so that complex coloraturas could be demanded of this instrument. “...some (famous masters) have, through varied practice on this instrument, made such progress that they can play the D below, and above, in the descant, the c”, d”, e” without any special difficulty ...”; it must have been for such players that Monteverdi wrote his Sonata. The recorders of the 17th century were made in one piece, their bore being more than double that of the baroque recorders that we know today. The sound of these instruments is full and velvety, gentle in the lower register but very powerful in its upper range. The dulcian is the direct predecessor of the bassoon, its tone is soft and capable of modulation, “therefore it has, on account of its gentle sound, been named dolzian, quasi dulcisonantes”. Piffari was the name given to the descant shawms; on these instruments, predecessors of the oboe, only a simple scale for everyday use could be played, i.e. some semitones are unobtainable. According to Praetorius, its tone is reminiscent of the cackling of a goose. As continuo instruments, or “foundation instruments” as they were called at that time, instruments of “Italian” timbre have been used throughout in this recording. The positive organ by Bernhard (Father) Smith is, like most English organs, very conservative in its specification, almost copying the Italian “organo di legno” of Monteverdi’s time. As harpsichords, a copy of a big continuo harpsichord was used for the full-sounding pieces, and. a copy of virginals from the 17th century for lightly moving instrumental music (such as the sonata). On the art of the continuo player Praetorius writes: “... from this thoroughbass he shall play quite simply and plainly as the notes follow one another, also not make any little runs, particularly in the left hand, in which the foundation proceeds. But if he will use some speed or movement in the right hand, namely in gentle cadences, it must be carried out with the utmost discretion and moderation so that the ‘concentores’ are not restricted and overwhelmed”. As a fourth continuo instrument a lute was used. “...It is just designed so that a descant or tenor can be sung to it ‘viva voce’. In addition it can also be very well used and is most lovely to hear when employed alongside other instruments in a complete concert.” All these instruments, the musicians who have specialized in playing them, all accuracy in stylistic matters are, however, of no avail if regarded as an end in themselves instead of as an aid - albeit an enormously valuable one - to let this music arise once again in all its vitality and radiance. This, and nothing else, must be the ultimate task and the ultimate reason for all endeavours when the attempt is made to reawaken into sound the music of one of the greatest geniuses of past centuries, in a manner that lets us feel something of the atmosphere of that age. Nikolaus Harnoncourt