© Angelo Palmieri

Tribute to Claudio Monteverdi for the 450th anniversary of the birth
È questa vita un lampo
Sacred and profane affections in the Selva Morale e Spirituale by Monteverdi

Allabastrina Choir & Consort
conductor Elena Sartori

Spuntava il dì
Magnificat I a 8
Voi ch’ascoltate in rime sparse il suono
Salve regina I a due voci
È questa vita un lampo
O ciechi! Il tanto affaticar, che giova?
Laudate pueri Dominum I
Dixit Dominus II
Magnificat II
Chi vol che m’innamori


Spontaneity, exuberance, diversity, silence: these are the ingredients for a good Selva. From the immense, comfortable shade of the first Magnificat to the vertiginous heights of Dixit Dominus II (like branches broken in a violent storm); from the delicate Salve Regina to the powerful “tacet” notations, which celebrate for a moment the voices and the fatigue, forcing every thought to withdraw into itself… It is impossible to get lost in Monteverdi’s “forest”: just surrender to your own inexhaustible need for beauty, and you will be safe immediately. And when in the Selva Monteverdi turns away from sacred texts, he sets to music verses by Petrarch, Grillo and other anonymous poets, all celebrating the brevity of life, the deadly pace of disillusionment and the inevitable flowing of time.


Duration:
1h 20’ without intermission