...but not the best. OK, I confess, I like my Vespers grand and dramatic, à la Gardiner, my particular favourite being the old live recording at San Marco. If I could take but one recording to my desert island, it would probably be this Gardiner version. (Try out the Gardiner 2010 Proms performance on YouTube too). I generally don't like one-voice-per-part recordings, but having recently been pleasantly surprised by the one-voice-per-part Dunedin B Minor Mass recording on Linn, I thought I'd give this a try.
Big mistake! The marvellous drama that Gardiner and others bring to the piece is largely gone. In its place is this often rather flat, undramatic rendering. This is not to say that it is not well-sung and -played, it is (it is also extremely well recorded). Indeed, some of the solo and duet items are excellent, ditto some parts of the Magnificat (I actually preferred the second version of the Magnificat) and the Sonata Sopra Sancta Maria is, I think, the best I've heard. However, to me, the big Psalm settings just fall completely flat. Thud (rather, splat). I love the drama that Gardiner and Suzuki and others bring to them. I don't care how authentic is this approach and how much scholarly justification there is for it, I'm not that keen on it, and it's not one that I will listen to very often.
Now I know that there are folk who like their Monteverdi Vespers lean and thin and wearing a hair shirt. I suspect they will love this, and I respect their opinions. However, for devotees of grand Monteverdi, think twice - at least...
One other beef, which I hope is not typical. When my set arrived, I could hear stuff rattling around inside the package. It transpired that only one tooth remained intact in each of the central holders, so both CDs were sloshing around in a sea of broken teeth. I suspect that this is the manufacturer's fault, using too brittle a grade of polystyrene. Amazon's packing seemed completely adequate.