Image: © Julien Mignot
Herve Niquet and his Le Concert Spirituel give us an overwhelming release, quite literally. The Missa Si Deus Pro Nobis by the French-Italian composer Orazio Benevolo is given its first ever recording in this release, and what a glorious recording it is!
The Missa was written to a vast amount of singers; 8 chores of 4 singers each, along with 15 continuo players. This required some complicated coordination between the different groups, located on seperate and detached areas. The short yet fascinating booklet text explains how this was possible, and it can be seen in the video below. The results, in any case, are grand, but the music interchange between a full participation of the singers and solo contributions. In some cases, Niquet highlights a certain singer or instrument from the separate groups. The recording catches all of that magnificently, and it sure will be interesting hearing the piece performed in concert.
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The album is wisely structured with the Missa’s long movement separated by shorter vocal and instrumental pieces by other baroque composers. The result makes the Missa sounds less monotonous and its highlights (Such as the Credo part), much more powerful.
Benevolo is a composer capable of grand gestures along with delicate sentimentality. The impressive Alpha Classics recording is a crucial contributor to the success of this project, and it catches all of the intricacies of these gestures.
A truly remarkable album.
Orazio Benevolo — Missa Si Deus Pro Nobis, Magnificat
Hervé Niquet, Le Concert Spirituel
Alpha Classics/Outhere Music, CD ALPHA 400
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