Natale Veneziano: “Christmas polyphony in the Venice of Monteverdi.”

Sometimes it can be a valuable experience to step outside one’s comfort zone. For me, the Italian and German composers on this beautiful new release from Arcana is a closed book. Over the years, I have heard music by Monteverdi, Schütz, and Gabrielli, but I have never “got into” it. Time has not been taken to explore this rich heritage from the 16th and 17th centuries. I know that the loss is all mine, but one cannot major in everything, far less listen to all genres and periods. So, it has been a pleasure to put Bach, the Romantics, the 12-tone brigade, and the English Pastoral School to one side for a few hours.

The opening paragraph of the booklet explains that all the works on this disc could be used in the “liturgies of the Christmas Festivities,” and that the repertoire will encompass several of the foremost musicians active in Venice during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, spanning from Andrea Gabrieli - whose death in 1585 marked the close of the Renaissance era’s early Venetian school - to Francesco Cavalli, who died in 1676, emblematic of the city’s flourishing Baroque tradition nearly a century later.

The greater portion of this disc is given to the work of Claudio Monteverdi written between 1640 and 1650. Five psalms are heard here. The liner notes explain that these lack “explicit references to the birth of the Redeemer,” however they could certainly have been used in the liturgy at Christmastide. Dixit dominus (Psalm 110) which would have been sung at the commencement of Vespers, provides a “continuous alteration of ripieno (full ensemble or chorus) sections and solo parts” rather than antiphonally. Monteverdi’s dramatic setting of Psalm 111 Confitebor tibi Domine combines an expressive trio in dialogue with a five-part ripieno and continuo. The liner notes give an apposite description of the five-voice Beatus vir (Psalm 112, not 111 as stated in the booklet: 111 is the Vulgate numbering) “which proceeds like a moto perpetuo over which a series of lively motifs are interwoven.” Laudate pueri Dominum, takes its text from Psalm 113. It is in five voices which are instructed to sing “Da Cappella” – In the style of the Chapel – in other words unaccompanied. Monteverdi’s final contribution is Psalm 117, Laudate Dominum. Written for eight voices, it sets two solo sopranos in dialogue with the full ensemble, advancing through a series of sharply contrasting episodes, each marked by its own discrete tempo.

The opening track is Heinrich Schütz’s Hodie Christus natus est, SWV456 (c.1610). Although a German composer, he studied in Venice with Gabrieli between 1609-12. This is a splendid Christmas motet mirroring both the joy and solemnity of the Nativity. The Alleluias are especially exuberant.

Giovanni Bassano’s Quem vidistis pastores? (1598) is an eight-voice motet giving an effective dialogue between the angels and the shepherds. It is part of the collection Motetti per concerti ecclesiastici (1598). Bassano was a music teacher at the seminary of St Mark’s.

The earliest piece on this album comes from Andrea Gabrieli, who was onetime organist at St Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. His 7-part motet, Angelus ad pastores ait (1587), dense in sound but somehow always luminous. An ideal start to the Christmas festivities. His nephew, Giovanni Gabrieli’s O Jesu mi dulcissime (1615) is in eight parts. It is quiet, intimate and a touch melancholic.

Francesco Cavalli was a Venetian Baroque composer, singer, and organist: he was a student of Monteverdi. He is represented on this disc by two pieces, both Marian antiphons – a seasonal hymn sung in honour of the Virgin Mary. The first, Alma redemptoris (1656) is for five voices with “occasional solo” introduced into the typically madrigalian structure. The Salve Regina (1656) is a “madrigal” for four voices that successfully fuses the sacred and the theatrical.

The concert closes with Alessandro Grandi’s Magnificat a 8 voci (1629) which is taken from the collection Salmi a otto brevi published in Venice in 1629, the year before the plague. It is an outstanding setting for double choir and continuo. Sadly, Grandi died during one of the plague epidemics.

Il Pomo d’Oro Choir was founded in 2021. They debuted with the already established orchestra of the same name, with Handel’s Theodora. Directed by Giuseppe Maletto, the choir brings together seasoned specialists in early Italian music. Their first solo album featured Gesualdo’s Sacrae Cantiones I, landmark 17th-century sacred motets. Forthcoming projects include Bach’s St John’s Passion and sacred works by Carissimi, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, and Cavalli. They are supported on this disc by a continuo of organ, harp and violine.

The booklet gives a good introduction to the music: they are printed in English, French, and Italian. The Latin texts are given in translation. Resumes of Il Pomo d’Oro (The Golden Apple) and their director Giuseppe Maletto are included as well as a few black and white photographs. Sadly, the font is small, and I was unable to find an online file.

My only niggle is that this beautiful music was recorded in Turin (wonderful city) and not in La Serenissima itself. But that is being unreasonable on my part...

I was impressed with the purity of the singing, the clarity of the diction, and the deep sense of religious conviction implied by the texts. All this is enhanced by an ideal recording.

“Christmas polyphony in the Venice of Monteverdi” indeed. This beautifully performed programme has opened a window onto a rich, unfamiliar world - one I am grateful to have glimpsed. Il Pomo d’Oro’s precision make a compelling case for this radiant Christmas repertoire.

Track Listing:
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
Hodie Christus natus est, SWV456 (c.1610)
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Dixit Dominus I, SV191 (1650)
Andrea Gabrieli (1532/33-85)
Angelus ad pastores ait (1587)
Claudio Monteverdi
Confitebor tibi Domine I, SV265 (1640)
Giovanni Bassano (ca.1560-1617)
Quem vidistis pastores? (1598)
Claudio Monteverdi
Beatus vir II, SV269 (1640)
Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1554/57-1612)
O Jesu mi dulcissime (1615)
Claudio Monteverdi
Laudate pueri Dominum, SV196 (1640)
Francesco Cavalli (1602-76)
Alma redemptoris mater (1656)
Claudio Monteverdi
Laudate Dominum III, SV274 (1640)
Francesco Cavalli
Salve Regina (1656)
Alessandro Grandi (1590-1630)
Magnificat a 8 voci (1629)
Il Pomo d’Oro/Giuseppe Maletto
rec. 16-21 June 2024, Confraternita dei Santi Rocco e Sebastiano, Cumiana, Turin, Italy
Arcana A584

With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.