Vivaldi: The Great Venetian Mass

by Paul Agnew, Sophie Karthaeuser, Lucile Richardot, Les Arts Florissants

Overview

Casual browsers happening on this release by the venerable early music ensemble Les Arts Florissants and director Paul Agnew may wonder why they have never heard of Vivaldi's Great Venetian Mass, and some of those will note that an RV (Ryom-Verzeichnis) catalog number is not present anywhere. It is because there is no Great Venetian Mass; what is recorded here is a creation by Agnew, assembled from other works. Some of these were mass sections, while others were contrafacta ("retextings"). Agnew's premise is that Vivaldi would often have been called upon to provide full settings of the Catholic mass, but none have survived. Therefore, he might have cobbled them together as needed from music he had already written. Other Baroque composers did this; Bach, in particular, was an inveterate recycler. Bach's joinings were so carefully done that one may not even realize what was happening. That is not the case here. The Gloria and Credo settings are of very different kinds, with different forces, and do not really seem to fit together, and the whole thing feels more like a collection of Vivaldi pieces than a coherent mass setting. This said, there is marvelous music here and fine music-making. For the Gloria, Agnew uses the familiar Gloria, RV 589, setting, the one known to anyone with even minimal familiarity with Vivaldi's music. Agnew takes its famed opening chorus at a breakneck clip that is certainly novel. A motet is inserted as an introduction to the Gloria, a likely valid practice. The Kyrie and Credo are likewise taken from freestanding settings of those movements, while the Sanctus, Benedictus, and part of the Agnus Dei come from the Beatus vir, RV 597, Dixit Dominus, RV 807, and Magnificat, RV 610, respectively, with a return to the Kyrie closing things out. These are all well-known pieces, even if they do not have much to do with each other, and Agnew has a glorious pair of soloists indeed in soprano Sophie Karthaeuser and mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot. Buyers have flocked to this recording, which offers familiar music in a new guise, and Agnew freely admits that what he has done makes no claim of historical authenticity. So, where is the harm? ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	06/24/2022
Label:	HARMONIA MUNDI
UPC:	3149020945858

Tracks

1. Great Venetian Mass~I. Kyrie eleison, RV 587: Coro, Kyrie eleison
2. Great Venetian Mass~I. Kyrie eleison, RV 587: Coro. Christe eleison
3. Great Venetian Mass~I. Kyrie eleison, RV 587: Coro. Kyrie eleison
4. Great Venetian Mass~II. Introduzione al Gloria: Motet Ostro picta, armata spina, RV 642: Aria. Ostro picta, armata spina
5. Great Venetian Mass~II. Introduzione al Gloria: Motet Ostro picta, armata spina, RV 642: Recitativo. Sic transit vana et brevis gloria mundi
6. Great Venetian Mass~II. Introduzione al Gloria: Motet Ostro picta, armata spina, RV 642: Aria. Linguis favete, omnes silete
7. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Coro. Gloria in excelsis Deo
8. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Coro. Et in terra pax hominibus
9. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Duetto. Laudamus te, benedicimus te
10. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Coro. Gratias agimus tibi
11. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Aria. Domine Deus, Rex c¿¿lestis
12. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Coro. Domine fili unigenite
13. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Accompagnato e Coro. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei
14. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Coro. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe depracationem
15. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Aria. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
16. Great Venetian Mass~III. Gloria, RV 589: Coro. Quoniam tu solus sanctus
17. Great Venetian Mass~IV. Credo, RV 591: Coro. Credo in unum Deum
18. Great Venetian Mass~IV. Credo, RV 591: Coro. Et incarnatus est
19. Great Venetian Mass~IV. Credo, RV 591: Coro. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis
20. Great Venetian Mass~IV. Credo, RV 591: Coro. Et resurrexit tertia die
21. Great Venetian Mass~V. Sanctus (Contrafactum RV 597/1 & RV 807/7): Coro. Sanctus Dominus, Deus Sabaoth
22. Great Venetian Mass~V. Sanctus (Contrafactum RV 597/1 & RV 807/7): Coro. Pleni sunt c¿¿li et terra gloria tua
23. Great Venetian Mass~V. Sanctus (Contrafactum RV 597/1 & RV 807/7): Coro. Osanna in excelsis
24. Great Venetian Mass~VI. Benedictus (contrafactum, RV 807/8): Aria. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini
25. Great Venetian Mass~VI. Benedictus (contrafactum, RV 807/8): Coro. Osanna in excelsis
26. Great Venetian Mass~VII. Agnus Dei (contrafactum RV 610/1 & RV 587): Coro: Agnus Dei

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sophie Karthaeuser   Primary Artist,Soprano (Vocal)
Paul Agnew   Primary Artist,Conductor
Lucile Richardot   Primary Artist,Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Les Arts Florissants   Primary Artist,Ensemble
Renata Pokupic   Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Irene Weber-Froboese   Liner Note Translation
Laurent Cantagrel   Liner Note Translation
Olivier Rosset   Mastering,Engineer,Mixing
Mike Sklansky   Liner Note Translation
Denis Morrier   Liner Notes
Paul Agnew   Liner Notes
Daniel Zalay   Artistic Director,Realization,Editing
Stephanie Wollny   Liner Note Translation
Antonio Vivaldi   Composer