Album insights
For most music enthusiasts, Monteverdi's sacred work is commonly associated solely with the magnificent Marienvesper, which he published in 1610 along with a Mass. Although the Marienvesper of 1610 is remarkably impressive, it represents just a part of Monteverdi's sacred music output and was ironically composed during a time when he was not primarily working as a church musician.
Monteverdi's career can be divided into two almost equal periods of creativity. From 1590/91 to 1612, he served at the court of Vincenzo Gonzaga, the ruler of the northern Italian duchy of Mantua, being appointed as the court's choirmaster in 1601. Monteverdi's extent of musical involvement in church music in Mantua is not well-documented. During his time, he was not regularly engaged at the ducal chapel Santa Barbara led by Giacomo Gastoldi and predominantly focused on composing madrigals and operas. However, it's likely that he composed church music for smaller chapels within the palace or for sacred chamber performances. It is believed that the works published in 1610 might have been created for these occasions.
It's also plausible that Monteverdi, feeling increasingly uneasy due to the working conditions in Mantua, published these works in 1610 to demonstrate his capability as a church musician. The publication contained settings of pieces for the two services, where intricate music was often heard during the late Renaissance. The Mass, a ritual reenactment of the Last Supper, was the most important service of the daytime, and Monteverdi emphasized this by composing a Mass in the style echoing Palestrina's conservative approach. Conversely, his settings of five Psalms, a hymn, a Magnificat, and several motets for Vespers, the most significant evening service in the Catholic Church, showcased a different style, incorporating all the latest musical devices of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Monteverdi's journey in Mantua ended abruptly in July 1612, following the death of Vincenzo Gonzaga. He was dismissed by the successor, Francesco Gonzaga. After a year of uncertainty without a secure position, performances of his works in Milan suggested that he applied for the cantor position at the cathedral there. Fortunately, in the summer of 1613, the cantor position at S. Marco in Venice became available, and Monteverdi successfully secured the position, conducting one of his masses during the audition. He remained in Venice until his death in 1643, gaining immense satisfaction from the respect and honor bestowed upon him in the city.
During Monteverdi's time, S. Marco was not Venice's cathedral but the Doge's chapel, at the crossroads of church and state interaction, intertwined with the city's history and identity. The music at S. Marco left a grand impression during religious festivities, entertaining important guests of the Doge. The choir and cantor were responsible for entertaining the Doge and guests during state banquets, creating unique scenarios where choir members would alternate between singing at banquets and participating in Vespers.
The musicians available to Monteverdi initially included a main choir of about twenty men, including several soprano castrati tasked with singing the most intricate music. Sängerknaben primarily sang chant but occasionally participated in polyphonic masses on weekdays. In addition, there was a group of around sixteen instrumentalists and two organists. The compositions by the choir, i.e., those composed by the cantor, adhered to a detailed system specifying the music suitable for each occasion. S. Marco had its own liturgy, independent of the Roman liturgy established by the Council of Trent, leading to unique textual passages in use only at S. Marco and a few similar institutions.
The musical style associated with S. Marco often featured spatial effects between different groups of vocalists and instrumentalists. This style, prominent in the music of Giovanni Gabrieli, emphasized the spatial arrangement during Mass settings and ceremonial motets at S. Marco. For instance, the main choir stood on the ground level, while instrumentalists and soloists were positioned in organ lofts, the altar area, or the opera box-like alcoves behind the choir wall.
It is noteworthy that only the standard Vespers services are clearly reconstructable, while Monteverdi's psalm settings with instrumental accompaniment could not have been performed solely from the pulpit: the instrumentalists likely played along with the organist on one of the organ lofts. The Vespers service at S. Marco occasionally extended to a larger scale, as described in the revised edition of Sansovino's Venetia città nobilissima in the early 17th century. The account portrays the grandeur and rarity of the music performed, particularly on special occasions like Christmas Vespers, where multiple choirs and musicians were hired.
S. Marco was not Monteverdi's only avenue in Venice. As a leading musician in the city, he was regularly invited to lead music at important church services in other churches, following different performance rules adhering to the Tridentine liturgy. For instance, in 1620, the Flemish diplomat Constantin Huygens witnessed Monteverdi conducting his works at a Vespers service at the church of S. Giovanni Elemosinario near the Rialto Bridge.
A significant portion of Monteverdi's sacred music composed for Venice, including notable works mentioned in letters and documents, remains lost. However, a few works recorded in anthologies, along with two collections, Selva morale e spirituale and Messa a quattro voci et salmi, summarize his thirty-year output in Venice. These monumental publications span a wide range of music styles from conservative Mass settings to the modern techniques of the 1620s and 1630s, showcasing Monteverdi's ongoing experimentation with new ideas even in his later years.
In the liturgy of San Marco in Venice, the evening Vespers on important feast days featured the unveiling of the grand golden altarpiece, the Pala d'Oro, with choral chanting of Psalms in two choirs of eight voices. In the Selva morale, Monteverdi's second setting of the "Dixit Dominus" aligns with this convention, albeit deviating from the traditional alternating verses between two separate choirs. Instead, he crafted a grandiose setting fitting for the majestic state church of the Venetian Republic, rich with a blend of voices, violins, and trombones reflecting the opulent interior of the church.
These works, along with others, reveal Monteverdi's versatile talents and contributions to the musical heritage of his time, whether in his mastery of sacred music, skill in various vocal compositions, or innovation in choral pieces, leaving an enduring legacy in the realm of music history.