Monteverdi • Vespro della Beata Vergine

Description

Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 are now rightly considered one of the greatest monuments of Baroque sacred music. Stephen Stubbs, with the ensembles Tragicomedia and Concerto Palatino and a group of the most talented singers, began performing the Vespers annually at Leiden’s Pieterskerk in 1998. Since then, the event has grown into a musical “chapel,” somewhat like what Monteverdi must have known at St. Mark’s. The wonderful acoustics of the space, the inspiring voice of its grand Orgue, but above all the warm atmosphere of an annual “family” event that brings together musicians, church staff, and visitors, have all contributed to creating what one might be tempted to call the “Leiden Vespers.” It is this wonderful experience that has been captured on this exhilarating recording.