Sacred Music 1

Here we have the start of a substantial new 'complete' recording series from The King's Consort, namely the sacred music of Claudio Monteverdi. The first volume is suitably opulent, with a veritable 'Who's who' of Monteverdi solo singers joined by two dozen chorus singers and a colourful group of instrumentalists under Robert King's lively baton. The repertoire for this opening volume presents a joyous Christmas sequence from the composer's great collection of 1640-41, Selva morale e spirituale, such as might have been heard at a Venetian Vespers, alongside a fine Mass. The spacious recordings were made in Super Audio 'surround sound' [SACDA67428 will be released in November] and are complemented by excellent booklet notes by Monteverdi expert Professor John Whenham. Monteverdi's unique music is constantly inventive, immensely varied - and uniquely Venetian. A glorious new Hyperion project!

'The King's Consort shows complete affinity with both the dramatic and the lyrical aspects of Monteverdi's style. No ensemble could be better suited to this magnificent undertaking' (The Daily Telegraph}

'This is life-enhancing stuff, breathtakingly exciting at times, exquisitely beautiful at others. If King and his forces maintain the standard they set here, this series is surely set to be the definitive representation of Monteverdi on disc' (BBC Music Magazine)

'...one of the glories of the new disc is the gloriously full-toned and marvelously projected singing of his two sopranos, Carolyn Sampson and Rebecca Outram ... A further distinct plus is Hyperion's superb engineering, which presents the performances with glowing, yet sharply defined immediacy' (Fanfare, USA)

'This music is already familiar from other recordings of Venetian vespers, yet these are magisterial performances, the Christmas setting giving them an appropriately festive focus' (Early Music)

'...a highly successful opening instalment' (Goldberg)

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Recording details: February 2003; St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom; Produced by Ben Turner; Engineered by Philip Hobbs; Release date: October 2003;