| CD REVIEW |
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| SACRED PLACES - LIEUX SACRES - STUDIO DE MUSIQUE ANCIENNE DE MONTREAL (CHRISTOPHER JACKSON) |
| Christopher Jackson, a co-founder and artistic director of the Studio de musique ancienne de Montr�al and an accomplished organist, harpichordist and choral conductor, recently conducted another of Claudio Monteverdi�s symphonies, Orfeo, throughout several cities in France in 1998. The Studio focuses on Baroque and Renaissance works of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Although I am not familiar with classical music other than the most popular compositions, such as Beethoven�s 9th, and Fur Elise, and Bach�s Jesu, Son of Man�s Desire (a.k.a. Ode to Joy), and basic compositions for classical guitar, I did have a Roman Catholic upbringing and remember very well listening to choirs and orchestras in St. Patrick�s Cathedral in Ottawa in the early �60s and being very entranced by its grandeur. That it was vocalized in Latin rather than English did nothing but increase its magnificence and mystification for me. So when I started listening to this music, it immediately brought back a vivid flood of childhood memories. There are some very interesting liner notes documenting the late 1500s and early 1600s, which apparently was a very prosperous time for musicians, especially those who could gain favour among the ecclesiastical authorities in power at the time. Two churches in particular, the San Marco Basilica and Il Redentore (the Church of the Redeemer), and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, were historically and socially important for the part they played in the aftermath of the Black Plague of 1597, and were structurally designed to produce and promote a level of musicianship not heard elsewhere. This recording of music by Claudio Monteverdi and Giovanni Gabrieli, two of Venice�s more reknowned musicians of the time, is cited as a scaled-down version of Monteverdi�s Magnificat, composed in 1610, as a �temporary solace from the turbulent times in which they lived and the constant threats they faced�. To me, that translates to �blues� music. It�s certainly very soothing and contrasts greatly with the violent, explosive anger reflected in our music today, which seems to have no purpose other than to aggravate our underlying miseries. Here is music that offers peace and hope, even in its sorrowful strains. The vocalization is otherworldly, with no less than six sopranos, four altos, four tenors and four basses. The soloists are sopranos Teresa van der Hoeven, Devon Wastle, altos Jos�e Lalonde, Marcel de H�tre, and basses Olivier Laquerre and Normand Richard. There are also 11 instrumentalists, three on sackbuts, which I have to admit is a totally foreign entity to me. They all deserve to be richly applauded for their performances! I urge anyone, of any age, who is looking for musical (or even divine) inspiration to give this CD a listen! |
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