Monteverdi Vespers of 1610

Few works composed in the Baroque era achieve quite the epic grandeur of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. With its five psalm settings, elaborate Magnificat and brilliant instrumental music, this masterwork can be seen as a kind of showcase for all the dramatic, lyric and colouristic skills that give Monteverdi his unique status in musical history.

Steeped in Monteverdi’s music with many acclaimed recordings, I Fagiolini perform the Vespers as Monteverdi originally envisaged, with a consort of dramatic solo singers accompanied by wind, strings and brass. Their peerless technical control and dynamic improvisation produce a colourful and viscerally emotional reading: a 21st-century interpretation as the group approaches its 40th anniversary.

"Off-the-charts brilliant... utterly enthralling." The Arts Desk

"A performance packed with riches... the shivery thrill of being totally immersed." The Times

I Fagiolini
English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble
Robert Hollingworth Conductor