click link for Stereo Sound • Monteverdi - Beatus Vir Claudio Monteverdi Beatus Vir The Taverner Choir and Consort (on Period-Instruments) Andrew Parrott EMI
Monteverdi's music is so delightful to listen to. Also, i find that his style of melody, use of repetition, and technique of arrangement are actually somewhat "pop"-ish. Obviously his music is a lot more beautiful and substantial than the popular music of today, but what differentiates him from both his Renaissance predecessors and later-Baroque and Classical followers is his music doesn't strive to be "complex", "sophisticated", "natural" or "humble"-- it had no agenda other than sounding good!
By far, the best recording I have heard of this piece. I just love it. I could listen to it over and over. I think the tempo is just right and sthe blend is perfect.
Monteverdi was right at the tail edge of the Renaissance, and so it's almost certain that the relationship between the 4/4 and 3/4 sections was a fixed proportion. They key to finding a good tempo for this piece is to figure out that proportion, then select a tempo where the 4/4 sections aren't too slow and the 3/4 section isn't too fast. Of course you also have to figure in the acoustics of the hall, as lots of reverb would muddy and blur the notes in a fast tempo.
I can not imagine a more beautiful piece of music EVER written! Paid for and advocated by the Church! Beautiful beyond words! FEEL IT! It's friggin remarkable. Beatus vir or "His beauty!" is the most profound piece of music in our canon of music...the finest piece EVER written by ANYONE...um...EVER! It's simple, it's emotional, it's gorgeous...like a fine painting...it IS the Mona Lisa of Sacred Christian music...of HUMAN culture. It is divine! AND I'm an atheist! :D lol
music from the renaissance yet there is something about this piece that feels modern, as for the Amen at the end if feels like the birth of the symphonic sound
Thank you for this offering! We did this in college choir, as humble as it was, and everyone loved it! The instruments add so much to the impact of this psalm. I enjoy all your postings...thanks again! Fr. Joseph H.
I find the square tempo perfect: one has to let the harmony/counterpoint sink in; doing this one can understand the joy of "beatus" as a harmonious one, in harmony with nature, counterpoint, etc, but I agree that the triple time might be more jubilant, dancing - and you can stretch it a bit then for the fusae.
Since the model for this piece ("Chiome d'oro" ) is often taken at a really fast clip, there are some who feel this piece must be done at the same pace. I tend to disagree-- I would take this work a *shade* or two faster HOWEVER. . .that being said, this is beautifully done, with careful and sensitive attention to details like phrasing blend, diction, etc, and there is no denying the joy and conviviality of the music, or the skill of the performers and their interpretation.
This is one of my favourite pieces, and thats sayin alot cus im one of the people who stand there for 100+ bars looking like a lemon not singing in the middle!! (for the ju cundus bit)
@ccoraxfan i am aware of that, am i not entitled to enjoy this piece of music and derive from it what i see and feel and think? Good heavens people, stop criticising others and just enjoy the music!!!
@captainmorgan757 I didn't realise the Virgin Mary was Immaculately conceived. She conceived Immaculately, yes, but did she not have two parents like the rest of us?
UGH!!!! This song is perfect. If one of those 'mainstream' artists finds this unmistakably wonderful piece of art, and 'remakes' it, I will be utterky furious. I cant wait for an opportunity to be apart of a Chorale that would perform this properly. Just as these fine musicians have done. In my opinon the tempo is impeccable at most times, but at others it seems a bit fast for the period. Does anyone know who conducted or performed this piece? I would love to download there works
@olialto7: Catholic teaching states that she was born without Original sin as so to give birth to a perfect sinless Jesus Christ. She had two parents, yet God decided to remove Original sin from her. Protestant teaching denies this though and says that Mary was just a normal person with Original sin. They state that Jesus didn't need anything outside himself to affect his perfection.
@hfcpa36 Why do you include Mary in the same list as the Holy Trinity? Mary is no goddess. She was blessed, indeed, but she was also a normal human being, a sinner in need of salvation like all of us.
