Vespro della Beata Vergine

Monteverdi’s “Vespro della Beata Vergine” was published in 1610, together with his “Missa in illo tempore”. This edition is his first important collection of music for the Catholic service. It is assumed that the composer hoped that this would help him to earn a position under the protective wings of the Church; and it payed off for him in 1613, the year in which he was named maestro di cappella of the San Marco Basilica in Venice. There is much uncertainty about how this “Vespro” came into being. In fact, this is a collection of various pieces which were most likely not conceived together with the goal of creating a self-contained unity; there are for example two Magnificat compositions in a row; of course only one of these should be chosen by the performer.