Voices of Connection: 05/05 Monteverdi: Vespers - Magnificat
Our special offering for #GivingTuesdayNow - The complete final movement of Monteverdi’s Vespers with a video introduction by Dennis Keene
Published in 1610, Monteverdi’s Vespers stands as one of the greatest creations of Western Music and was unprecedented for its lavish use of instrumental and vocal forces and of musical styles. At the end of this magnificent work comes perhaps the greatest movement of all, the “Magnificat.” This 23 minute piece is a series of short sections, each of which displays different vocal or instrumental music – sometimes very virtuosic – but always with the slow notes of a Gregorian chant in the background. This extraordinary tableau, this journey of individual moments accumulates in a timeless and universal manner. Finally, the full forces come together at the end. And when the music finally pivots to its home key of B-flat Major the heavens open in one of the most glorious moments in all of music. - Dennis Keene
Voices of Ascension
Dark Horse Consort
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
Molly Quinn and Elena Williamson, sopranos
Lawrence Jones and Brandon Hynum, tenors
Jason Eck and Joseph Charles Beutel, bass-baritones
Robert Mealey and Mimi Mitchell, violins
Kiri Tollaksen, cornetto
Alex Opsahl, cornetto and recorder
Greg Ingles, trombone, tenor cornetto and recorder
Erik Schmaltz, trombone and recorder
Liza Malamut, trombone
Mack Ramsey, bass trombone, cornetto
Recorded live in concert, February 22, 2018
Church of the Ascension, New York, NY
The singers in these performances are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.