Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) 

Arie & Lamenti
Madrigali Guerreri et Amorosi

Réédition / Reissued
Alia Vox AVSA9884 (A + B)
Code-barres/Barcode: 7619986398846

Édition remasterisée

Remastered edition

Super Audio CD






 








 


Description

CD 1
Arie e Lamenti per voce sola

Artistes / Performers : Montserrat Figueras
A.Lawrence King
R.Lislevand
T. Koopman
Paolo Pandolfo
Lorenz Duftschmid

Lieu d'enregistrement / Recording site:Pieve de S. Martino, Emilia. (05/1989)

Durée totale / Total time: 61'30"

CD 2
Madrigali Guerreri et Amorosi
Libro Ottavo

Artistes / Performers : Montserrat Figueras
La Capella Reial de Catalunya, 
dir. Jordi Savall

Lieu d'enregistrement / Recording site:Église Protestante, Ribeauvillé, France (09/1994)

Durée totale / Total time: 56'46"

Édition originale

Astrée E 8710

Édition originale

E 8546

Réédition Naïve

Naïve - 9955
 

Réédition Naïve

Naïve - 9944

 


 

 

Évaluations recensées / Reviews located



03/1996 - re. CD II
 


# 379 (02/1992) -re. CD 1 (non localisé)
# 477 (01/2001) - re. CD 1

Classical Net (03/96)
Paul Riley


19:5 (05/06 - 1996) - re. CD II 
35:4 (03/04 - 2012)



Par/By:Christiane Bayer



Par: Monique Parmentier
 


Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)


Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)


Extrait du livret / From the liner notes

 Extraits de l'essai rédigé par Silke Leopold pour la réédédition de ces enregistrements:

"
Parmi les huit livres de madrigaux publiés en un demi siècle par Monteverdi entre 1587 et 1638, le dernier occupe une place très particulière. Imprimé en un temps où l’art vocal du madrigal – généralement à cinq voix –, qui, en cent ans, s’était répandu non seulement dans toute l’Italie mais également au nord des Alpes, avait depuis longtemps dû céder sa position dominante à des formes moins denses comme la cantate ou le duo, ce recueil apparaît comme une sorte d’épode au temps passé; avec sa conception nouvelle du phrasé entièrement basée sur des réflexions philosophiques, il prépare le terrain à un langage musical axé sur l’émotion qui était appelé  à marquer toute une époque". 

"Monteverdi a donné à son huitième livre de madrigaux le titre de « Madrigaux guerriers et amoureux » et a écrit, parallèlement à sa dédicace, un avant-propos dans lequel il expose ses conceptions artistiques. La colère, la retenue et l’humilité constitueraient ainsi selon Monteverdi les principales émotions de l’âme humaine, à la rencontre desquelles le compositeur doit avancer par une écriture à la fois violente, retenue et souple".

"Dans les Madrigali amorosi, la deuxième partie du livre VIII des madrigaux, Monteverdi propose des sons plus doux..."

"L’œuvre (cependant) par laquelle Monteverdi a peut-être le plus influencé ses successeurs sans pour autant qu’aucun d’entre eux ait jamais pu atteindre une intensité émotionnelle comparable
..."

Ce "... 
Lamento della ninfa dans lequel une nymphe accompagnée d’un trio de voix d’hommes pleure la perte de son amant infidèle, Monteverdi choisit de calquer le tempo sur le propre rythme de l’âme en souffrance plutôt que d’employer un tempo mesuré. Sur un ostinato du quatuor de basses qui pour Bach, Schubert et Mozart constituera encore l’expression même de la plainte, la nymphe chante sa douleur, entourée de deux trios qui racontent son histoire" .

Poursuivez votre lecture - texte intégral


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~~~~~~~~~~

 Excerpts from the essay written by Silke Leopold for the re-issue of these recordings:

"Among the eight books of madrigals published by Monteverdi between 1587 and l638, the last collection occupies a very special place. This collection, printed when the art of the madrigal, generally in five voices, which had indisputably reigned during at least one century over Italy and also north of the Alps, had finally relinquished its prominent position to lighter genres such as duets and cantatas, seems to be a farewell to the past; with its innovative phrasing grounded in philosophical views, it clears the way for a musical language focusing on the emotions which was to put its stamp on musical creation for a very long time". 

"Monteverdi entitled his eighth book of madrigals Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi (War and Love Madrigals), and wrote beside his dedication a foreword explaining his artistic views. In his view, anger, reserve and humility are the main emotions of the human soul, which the composer must express by a now violent, now restrained, now flowing writing". 

"In the Madrigali Amorosi (Love Madrigals), the second part of the book of madrigals, Monteverdi uses softer sonorities". 

"The work by Monteverdi which had the greatest influence on his successors, although none of them achieved a comparable emotional intensity, belongs to the “Madrigali Amorosi... (the) ... “Lamento della Ninfa” in which a nymph accompanied by a trio of male voices laments the loss of her unfaithful lover, Monteverdi models the tempo on the inner rhythm of the suffering soul rather than using a regular beat. Above a bass quartet ostinato, which for Bach, Schubert and Mozart was to remain the true expression of complaint, the nymph sings her sorrow, surrounded by two trios which tell her story". 

Read on - Full text

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Gramophone- 
(03/1996)


Re: CD II (Madrigali guerreri)
 

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Reviewer: Iain Fenlon

 

The poetic title of Monteverdi’s Eighth Book of Madrigals refers both to its internal organization and also the whiff of an aesthetic programme in the preface which speaks of the composer’s ‘invention’; in the concitato genere. In practice this results in a limited number of techniques (which Monteverdi arguably overuses) destined to broaden the expressive potential of rhythm. Indeed, it is the madrigali guerrieri that have attracted the most attention in the recording studio, particularly the opening sonnet "Altri canti d'amor" and, above all, "Hor ch'el ciel e la terra", currently available in some half-dozen interpretations. Both occur in this selection together with other well-known pieces including the "Lamento della ninfa" and the ballo, "Volgendo il ciel", an attractively balanced grouping which effectively presents a fair sample from this, the most heterogeneous of all Monteverdi’s books.

The overall approach here is robust and theatrical, making the most of all the possibilities for virtuosic display that the music provides in its pursuit of heady eroticism and high drama. In this the singers are ably supported by some fine string playing, beautifully shaped and phrased, as well as a luxuriant continuo grouping which includes theorbo, double harp, harpsichord and organ. There is some splendid singing too; Lambert Climent gives an eloquent account of the introduction to the ballo, the men give a splendidly characterized reading of "Gira il nemico", and Montserrat Figueras a persuasive account of the "Lament° della ninfa".

There are also some less satisfactory songs, however; the brilliant passagework which is such a prominent feature of the book as a whole is sometimes ragged in execution, there are occasional lapses of intonation among the singers, and there is a certain amount of fussy added ornamentation in the string parts that at times becomes intrusive and distracting. All in all, a mixed blessing. 
 

Diapason- 477 (01/2001)


Re: CD I (Arie & Lamenti)

 

Appréciation 



Evaluation

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Analyste: Roger Tellart
Texte intégral

C’est en femme émancipée que Montserrat Figueras aborde ici Monteverdi, accompagnée par un subtil « concert » instrumental où se remarque l’absence de la gambe de Jordi Savall, son mari. Une absence qui prive peut-être ce récital d’une certaine dimension théâtrale, pour privilégier, en revanche, le beau son avec le « bien- dire».

Toujours est-il qu’on a connu au disque des Arianes plus égarées, mais certainement pas plus crédibles (l’intelligence avec laquelle est exhalée la dissonance initiale du Lamento fameux, écho de la « juste plainte » dont le Crémonais était épris). Et la Lettre, toute d’intimité, est fondamentalement amorosa, et sensuelle aussi, à défaut de brûler les mots, comme dans la lecture exacerbée de la regrettée Cathy Berberian. Une réédition qui comblera tous les amoureux de la vocalité vulnérable de « Monsé » et qui en séduira bien d’autres.


Classical Net (03/96)

Re: CD II

 

Appréciation 

Evaluation

 

 
Reviewer: Paul Riley

A sumptuous Monteverdian treat 

Monteverdi had just turned 70 when the Eighth Book of Madrigals appeared in 1638; 20 years had elapsed since Book 7 and Monteverdi’s renewed flirtation with publishing perhaps stemmed in part from a wish to show the younger generation snapping at his heels that there was still plenty of life in the old dog. Moreover he was keen to consolidate links with the Hapsburg Court at Vienna, dedicating the volume to the new Emperor Ferdinand III: “to the son’s feet a present initially meant for the father.” Rich in contrasting imagery the dual theme of love and war sparked some of Monteverdi’s most inspired music to date. Lamento della Ninfa in particular would haunt the operatic stage through to Purcell’s Dido and beyond.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Artusi took Monteverdi to task for what he considered to be far-out harmonic innovations. When composing Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi (Madrigals of War and Love), Monteverdi was perhaps still smarting from the spat, and went to great lengths to stress a classical foundation to the three musical styles cited in its preface: anger, prudence and humility, he insisted, were the three guiding emotions and each required a distinctive musical profile.

Jordi Savall and La Capella Reial de Catalunya get to the heart of all three, living each piece as the self-contained drama which it is, yet never losing sight of the wood for the trees. Everything has been scrupulously prepared, but in performance a vibrant spontaneity takes over.

The Stile Concitato (warlike style) is irresistible, instrumental incisiveness going hand in hand with vocal punch, and if the recording is a touch resonant that resonance really lends excitement to the clangour. Not that subtlety is in short supply either. Il Gira Il Nemico Insidioso Amore opens with a wonderful sense of conspiracy which neatly modulates into telling urgency, the Ballo dances joyfully along, buoyed up by some extremely distinguished instrumental playing, and the sharp contrasts of Hor che’l ciel e la terra are magnificently registered.

Throughout, the singing continues to be both true to the impulse of the individual lines yet powerfully cohesive and mutually responsive. There are a couple of wobbles, and in solos one or two voices might not be to all tastes, but as an ensemble they are dangerously seductive. Even those familiar with these works should prepare to fall in love with Monteverdi all over again.
 


19:5 (05/06 - 1996) - re. CD II

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Reviewer: J. F. Weber 
Abridged version :
 

" ... the strength of Jordi Savall's disc is the warm-sounding Mediterranean vocal ensemble. Its stellar member is Montserrat Figueras, but her voice by no means dominates the group, and one of the war songs, Gira il nemico, is set for three males voices only. Like a couple of Italian vocal groups that have recently entered the lists, these voices could never be mistaken for the Consort of Musické. I have praised the latter group's work at great length, but there is a different set of strengths, and true collectors will want to hear both approaches to Monteverdi".

"The sound captured in a French church is lovely. The notes are useful, and texts come with translations. Highly recommended". 

This article is available on the web to subscribers of Fanfare.


35:4 (03/04 - 2012)

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Reviewer: J. F. Weber 

This is being written a day after the passing of Montserrat Figueras at the age of 69 after a year’s illness*. Her legacy of more than 30 years of recordings began with study at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with her husband, Jordi Savall, their founding of the ensemble Hespèrion XX (now XXI) in 1974, and decades of concerts and recordings on Teldec, Electrola Reflexe, Astrée, and their own label, Alia Vox. Teldec issued one of her first records with Savall and Ton Koopman among the players, a collection of Baroque Spanish music. The first album under review here was originally two singles on Astrée (Fanfare 15:6 and 19:5), now reissued in Super Audio like many others.

The first disc in the set is a group of 10 solo works of Monteverdi including the contrafact lament of the Madonna (based on Ariadne’s lament). The ensemble that accompanies her includes Ton Koopman and Andrew Lawrence-King. The notes by Harry Halbreich (from the original issue) are informative and helpful, clarifying the stature of these works. He calls Lettera amorosa “the crowning glory of the Seventh Book of Madrigals”; Lamento d’Arianna was “Monteverdi’s most famous and widely circulating piece” in his own day; its contrafact Pianto della Madonna was placed as the climax of the 1640 collection of sacred music. Four other works are set to sacred texts and three to secular. All of these selections were readily available when the disc was first issued, but few of them demonstrated the warmth and intensity that Figueras brought to her interpretations, and of course the collection of 10 pieces could not be matched by any other program.

The other disc in the first set groups six works from the composer’s Book 8, drawing equally from both halves of the collection, including the songs announcing both themes, war (“Others Sing of Love”) and love (“Others Sing of War”). Given the number of complete sets of Book 8, which fill three discs, the value of this single-disc sampling resides in the inclusion of such masterly works as Gira il nemico, Volgendo il ciel, Lamento della Ninfa, and Hor che’l ciel, together with the exquisite ensemble performances. Two brief sinfonias are added. The original notes by Silke Leopold point out the salient features of the works selected for inclusion.

*   Montserrat Figueras died of cancer on November 23, 2011.

Autres références disponibles via la base de données de Todd McComb/ Other available references  via Todd McComb's database:
(Site: http://www.medieval.org) 
re: CD I: Arie e lamenti per voce sola 
re: CDII: Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi

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 Harmonia Mundi / Gold - Appréciations

 Goldberg Magazine - 1998-2008 - Les 50 meilleurs cd de la décennie

 Harmonia Mundi / Gold - The critics' point of view

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Date de création de cette fiche: 08/09/2011
Dernière mise à jour de cette fiche:
2021-01-03


 



This page was first published on:
09/08/2011
This page was updated on:

01/03/2021

  

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Code-barres/Barcode : 7619986398846
 

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