Vespers to the Virgin (Monteverdi)

Extraordinarily expressive music

Monteverdi's Vespers occupy a unique place in the history of music, on a par with Bach's Passions and Handel's Messiah. They open up a new and original path, blending moments of intense contemplation with exuberant movements, very close to operatic writing.

Their modernity still strikes contemporary ears. Nor was Monteverdi afraid to explore the space between the intimate and the monumental. As a pioneer, he worked on the birth of a new current of musical expression designed to best express emotions, known in Italian as "affetti". He strove to invent musical artifices, to choose instrumental timbres in particular, and to revolutionize the practice of singing, seeking to create a new musical vocabulary and take advantage of all the techniques needed to achieve the necessary virtuosity and perfect eloquence.


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