Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Sacred Music, Vol. 2

The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor)
Download only
Label: Hyperion
Recording details: February 1996
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Ben Turner
Engineered by Philip Hobbs
Release date: May 1996
Total duration: 68 minutes 29 seconds
 

The first volume of The King's Consort's exploration of Vivaldi's sacred music featured some of the composer's most opulent church writing, with works requiring double choir and two orchestras. The second volurne turns to smaller-scale, solo-voice motets, featuring six contrasting works that were written with a variety of different soloists in mind. Seeing the technical skills which the composer frequently demands of his soloists (for example, the extraordinary bird-like warbles in the first aria of Canta in prato or the vivid representation of Satan's wiles in Nulla in mundo), one can only marvel at the abilities of singers in Vivaldi's day. Here was a composer who was wonderfully individual, testing both musical forms and his singers to the utmost, writing music of great life and spirit which is immediately approachable for performers and listeners.

All of the music on this album is also available as part of the specially priced box set Vivaldi: The Complete Sacred Music: ‘King has given us the ultimate Vivaldi anthology, abundant in energy, rich with emotion, animation, and color, and enshrined in Hyperion's fabled, warm, and incomparable sound’ (Fanfare, USA).

Awards

GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE

Reviews

‘Utterly beguiling pieces of music, impossible to dislike and easy to be beguiled by’ (Gramophone)

‘Altogether a first-class collection, and excellently recorded’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

‘If anything is likely to spark off widespread enthusiasm for Vivaldi's vocal works it is this splendid disc … a delightful issue … perfect performances of little heard repertoire’ (Classic CD)

'Esta versión de los motetes es la que debmos recommendar a todo el mundo' (CD Compact, Spain)

Other albums in this series

Waiting for content to load...
Waiting for content to load...
Waiting for content to load...