Johann Rosenmüller Vespro Della Beata Maria Vergine Breiding - Rop7019 20 - Rondeau

En 1655 Rosenmüller, promis à un grand avenir, dû quitter précipitamment Leipzig pour échapper à la justice. Des presque 25 années qu'il passa en exil à Venise comme instrumentiste et chef de chœur il ramena des œuvres religieuses mariant style vénitien et goût allemand, dont celles constituant les Vêpres enregistrées ici. C'est peu dire que les forces rassemblées par Jörg Breiding en donnent une lecture formidable ! On sait que le Knabenchor Hannover a acquis sous la direction passée de Heinz Hennig un niveau exceptionnel : ductilité, justesse, articulation acérée, il confirme ici en lançant au passage quelques flèches sidérantes ("in medio inimicorum" du Dixit Dominus, "non confondetur" du Nisi Dominus...). Les 8 solistes évoluent au même niveau, lignes tendues et couleurs complémentaires, portés par un petit ensemble instrumental rehaussé de quelques cuivres : tous sont d'une justesse confondante. La direction de Breiding vise à éviter tout effet superflu et obtient de tous un mélange de gravité, de ferveur et d'humilité qui fait passer ces deux heures de musique comme un souffle. Pour couronner le tout, prise de son remarquable de naturel et de précision : à ne pas manquer ! (Olivier Eterradossi)

During the seventeenth century, there was no such thing as a middle-class concert scene in Italy, as we are familiar with today. If one wanted to hear festive music, one could only experience this on a regular basis in church services. Since the Catholic mass only offered, due to liturgical guidelines, limited possibilities for the performance of extensive musical works, the vespers during key Catholic celebrations in particular developed – especially on Marian feast days – into concert-like evening music. One of the greatest of its kind is the Vesper For The Blessed Virgin by Johann Rosenmüller (1617–1684), who grew up in Germany, but experienced the greatest part of his career as a composer in Italy. Eyewitness reports given by Venetian travellers of the seventeenth century who were able to attend such vespers, speak of impressive performances for which sometimes additional galleries had to be erected because the available organ gallery was not able to accommodate the huge number of musicians. Likewise, Rosenmüller's Vesper is cast with a large and excellent lineup: Directed by Jörg Breiding, the Hanover Boys’ Choir, the Johann Rosenmüller Ensemble, and the Barockorchester L’Arco as well as renowned soloists came together in Hanover. Together they revived this monumental piece, which almost fell into oblivion for decades, after it was on everybody’s lips in Germany and Italy for more than a hundred years.