MONTEVERDI. Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610). Monique Zanotti, Gillian Fisher (sops); David Cordier (alto); John Elwes, William Kendall, Nico van der Meel, Philippe Cantor (tens); Peter Kooy (bass); Niederalteich Choir School; Stuttgart Chamber Choir; Cologne Musics Fiats / Frieder Bernius. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi/BMG 0 a R K77760 (two cassettes, nas); R D77760 (two discs, nas: 93 minutes: ODD). Texts and translations included.

MONTEVERDI. Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610). Montserrat Figueras, Maria Cristina Kiehr (sops); Livio Picotti, Paolo Costa (altos); Guy de Mey, Gian Paolo Fagotto, Gerd Turk (tens); Pietro Spagnoli, Roberto Abbon- danza (bars); Daniele Carnovich (bass); Padua Centre for Ancient Music Chorus; La Capella Reial / Jordi Savall. Astree Auvidis/ Pinnacle ® E8719 (two discs, nas: 96 minutes: DDD). Texts and translations included.

Selected comparisons:

Parrott (10/85) CDS7 47078-2

Corboz (7/86) ECD88024

Of all the rediscoveries of 'ancient music' this century, the vesper settings by Monteverdi have probably been most rapidly assimilated into our mainstream musical culture: an unprecedented, unmatched work from the early baroque to put alongside later masterpieces of the period such as Messiah or the B minor Mass. Just how established a part of the repertory the Vespers have become is reflected in the spate of recent recordings, with, apparently, still more to come. Since Andrew Parrott's 1984 version on EMI, most have tried to reconstruct in some way the original liturgical context for the music of Monteverdi's 1610 publication, although some of the riddles posed by this collection still remain to be answered. Cologne Musica Fiata broadly follow Parrott in taking the liturgy for a major Marian feast (though Bernius's reconstruction is neither as complete nor as convincing as in the earlier version), while Savall and La Capella Reial go for the Santa Barbara theory advanced by Graham Dixon and already realized—again more fully— by The Sixteen on Hyperion. Basically, the liturgical context element on both these new recordings is confined to a few plainchant antiphons, and is hardly likely to be a decisive factor one way or the other.

You might well be tempted to listen to SavaII's version simply because it was actually recorded in the basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua: how authentic can you get (that is supposing the Vespers were ever performed there)? Yet while it may have added a frisson of excitement to the sessions (the spirit of Monteverdi is hardly likely to hover benignly in a place where he felt so frustrated and underrated), and it would be fair to say that the sound is more 'atmospheric' than the "slightly metallic" quality JM noted in Parrott's recording, the balance is not entirely satisfactory, the textures not as clean. The Italian choir used on the recording is adequately disciplined, but curiously sounds no more Italianate than the Stuttgart Chamber Choir, or, for that matter, the Taverner Consort for Parrott, whose projection of the words is exemplary by comparison.

This particular aspect proves crucial in the large-scale psalm settings in which the choral singing should come into its own. Neither the Padua Centre for Ancient Music Chorus nor the Stuttgart Chamber Choir are incisive or sustained enough here, though the former sound a little less laid back about the whole thing and avoid the relentless swell of the German choir that in Laudate pueri threatens seasickness. They are not helped by generally slow tempos (although Sava11's Nisi Dominus bubbles along quite nicely) and a lack of sense of pacing on the part of both directors: the results are too often amorphous— the Stuttgart choir is strangely unenergized, strange because it is hard to imagine such a response to this music—and the grandeur of these settings shines out only patchily. Both their readings are, however, preferable to Corboz's rather erratic account on Erato/WEA.

Where both these recordings fare better is in the solo items, many of which are sung expressively and with a good feeling for style. Interestingly, they have still more in common in the shared continuo team of Stephen Stubbs (chitarrone) and Andrew Lawrence-King (harp), whose contribution is considerable in both versions: their playing is imaginative, sensitive and stylish and often seems to provide the momentum for the soloists they accompany. The tenors Gian Paolo Fagotto and John Elwes both turn in expressive readings of Nigra sum; I felt that the former judged the climax on the word "veni" even better than Nigel Rogers on the Parrott version. Bernius's sopranos are quite well matched, more so certainly than SavaII's. Who could blend with Montserrat Figueras's distinctive sound and highly idiosyncratic singing style? Here her dark Catalan vowels and sudden fadings—an inability to sustain might be another way of looking at it—will test even her most ardent supporters.

Where Sava11's recording does score, however, is in the instrumental playing, much of which is excellent and strongly characterized. I particularly enjoyed the ritornellos in the Magnificat and the Sonata is full of good things: suddenly, without the full choir to control, Sava11 slips into his element. Bernius's instrumentalists are perfectly able, but display less flair when the occasion demands. Ultimately that sums up my position on these two recordings: both are of a high standard technically and have something to offer, but Sava11 has the edge—if only just—when it comes to drama. That is what the Vespers are all about: declamation and contrast, neither elements being exploited to the full here. T.K.