Marienvesper - Musikfest Bremen

Vox Luminis vocal and instrumental ensemble
Lionel Meunier bass and conductor

Program:
Claudio Monteverdi: "Vespro della Beata Vergine" SV 206 (Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

In his Vespers della Beata Vergine, published in 1610, Claudio Monteverdi spread out an almost inexhaustible palette of his art. He contrasted the polyphonic church music of the Renaissance, the "Prima prattica", with the "Seconda prattica", which introduced the virtuoso-soloistic use of the human voice as a creative medium. By combining these two styles, the composer created a work which, with its expressiveness and monumentality as well as its formal richness, opened up completely new dimensions for sacred music of the time. Who better to bring this unique score to life than the Belgian ensemble Vox Luminis and its founding conductor Lionel Meunier? Back in 2022, they impressed audiences in Verden Cathedral with vocal artistry at its finest in 40-part settings by Alessandro Striggio and Thomas Tallis. Now Lionel Meunier is performing Monteverdi's spectacular masterpiece with Vox Luminis and is once again a guarantee for ecstatic outbursts full of overwhelming splendor of sound as well as moving moments of deep spiritual contemplation.