MONTEVerdi: L`Orfeo ( DVD + BLU RAY )

Agnew, Paul, Les Arts Florissants

HMD 9809062.63

From 2012 to 2017 we had - together with the ensemble Les Arts Florissants - concert experiences of a very special kind: We performed the eight Madrigal books by Monteverdi, which were published during his lifetime. Three CD recordings have emerged from this project. These madrigals in their entirety are like a musical autobiography of this composer, whose work marks the transition to the Baroque period. Now we are completing our work with the recording of "Orfeo", Monteverdi's first opera and a work that brought about a fundamental change in the history of music. • For the decoration of our production I was looking for pictures from the 17th century, which at the same time depict the world of antiquity, this Golden Age, from which Orpheus originated. So I was inspired by the sacred paintings of Nicolas Poussin. With this concept in mind, however, I have also tried to create the preconditions for ensuring that this staging maintains a good comprehensibility of the text. Monteverdi's originality lies in the desire that the text should determine the music. This means that the accompaniment of the singers and the singing are intended to amplify the feelings transmitted by the text. In contrast to the Renaissance music that preceded Monteverdi's time, there is not a single note in "Orfeo" that is not directly inspired by or connected to the text. This principle is of central interest in that epoch which we call Baroque today and in which the origins of modern music lie. (PAUL AGNEW)

Blu-ray, DVD x 1

Harmonia Mundi

2017-11-16

3149020906286