Selva morale e spirituale

 Selva morale e spirituale - Claudio Monteverdi

Vokalkapelle der Theatinerkirche München
Director: Robert Mehlhart

The debut CD of the Vokalkapelle of the Theatinerkirche Munich is dedicated to two very special works from Monteverdi's collection "Selva morale e spirituale", translated: "the Moral and Spiritual Forest" as the composer christened the selection of his spiritual "best-of" works at the end of his life.
Right at the beginning of the CD, the listener is allowed to immerse himself in the mystical world of Monteverdi - this spiritual forest - in the almost otherworldly "Magnificat secondo", which rises again and again from the Gregorian psalmody to a starry twinkle of rhetorical vocal art. The Magnificat is followed by the four-part mass, which combines the polyphonic model of Palestrina with Monteverdi's impulsive contrasts. This touching album is another example of how the composer can enthuse and inspire singers, musicians and listeners, even in the 450th year of his birth.
Following the Venetian tradition, the twelve-member vocal ensemble is accompanied by a continuo group, here a theorbo and a chest organ.

Over the past six years, the young conductor and choirmaster P. Robert Mehlhart OP has rebuilt the vocal chapel of the Theatinerkirche in Munich as a young professional vocal ensemble and established it as a specialised ensemble for vocal music of the 16th and 17th centuries as well as for Gregorian chant. The ensemble builds on a tradition as a "royal court chapel" at the Munich court, which dates back to 1482.