Fans of the Roger Wagner Chorale will especially welcome this reissue of the group’s 1961 Respighi/Monteverdi recording, presented in exceptionally clear-sounding transfers from the two- and three-track originals, with particularly vibrant, natural solo voices and instruments. The choir is somewhat confined and narrowly focused (more so in the Respighi than the Monteverdi), but this doesn’t generally affect detail of inner lines and diction, except in the most dense textures of both works. The Respighi, a rarely-performed cantata-like piece for three vocal soloists, chorus, and small instrumental ensemble (complete with some light staging instructions provided by the composer’s wife), derives its text from a 13th-century laude by Franciscan poet Jacopone da Todi. The version performed here is an English translation, and it works very well in presenting this Christmas story from the point of view of the shepherds. There’s lots to do for all of the performers throughout the work’s 22 minutes, and Respighi uses modal harmonies and occasional chant-style melody to bring a sort of Middle Eastern “flavor” to the music. Besides the excellent singing of soprano Marie Gibson, the performance is notable for the presence of a 27-year-old Marilyn Horne, whose soprano billing is true even if the rich, darker mezzo hues of subsequent years already make themselves thrillingly felt.
Of course, countless recordings of the Monteverdi Magnificat have followed this one, benefiting from decades of period-performance scholarship and specialized performing technique, but anyone who’s interested in a Roger Wagner Chorale rendition of Monteverdi will know to expect the ensemble’s trademark sound and singing style–consistently full-bodied, vibrato-colored tone, articulation that’s more deliberate and firm than discrete, and (in this music at least) wide dynamic range and powerful tuttis. There’s plenty of energy here, and a real sense of the singers’ passion for the music and its celebratory purpose. It’s great to have this back in the catalog, complemented by complete texts and newly written, informative liner notes. [11/5/2004]
