Monteverdi’s magnificent Vespers takes centre stage
LLANDAFF Cathedral will echo to the glorious sound of renaissance Venice this weekend when Cardiff Polyphonic Choir perform Claudio Monteverdi’s magnificent Vespers of 1610.
The choir, under its conductor David Young, will be joined by seven soloists and a host of leading players.
Top brass players His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts join early music specialists Réjouissance and continuo players like David Miller.
South Wales-born Young will play the chitarrone – an early Italian instrument with a wonderfully deep sound. Returning to Cardiff, where he teaches at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, he has recorded with classical singers like Elin Manahan Thomas, who performed at the Royal Wedding in May.
He has made more than 200 recordings as accompanist and continuo player.
His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts are a world-renowned pioneering brass ensemble. The instruments they play are the forerunners of modern trombones and trumpets. They have recorded Monteverdi’s Vespers under their patron, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, in St Mark’s in Venice.
Monteverdi published his Vespers in Venice in 1610, shortly before being appointed maestro di cappella at St Mark’s Basilica. This wonderful work has been described as a “mixture of the splendid and the intimate, the sensual and the sublime”.
Cardiff Polyphonic Choir was launched in 1964 when 20 Aberystwyth graduates who had sung together in university met up in the Welsh capital to form a choir, initially under the baton of Roy Bohana.
More than 50 years later, the choir now numbers 65 singers. Over the years it has worked with many great orchestras – including the Philharmonia, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Baroque, the London Mozart Players and the Hallé.
Cardiff Polyphonic Choir performs Monteverdi’s Vespers at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff tomorrow at 7.30pm. Tickets at £22 and £12 are available from TicketSource, or at the door. For more details, see www. cardiff polyphonic.org.uk