instrumental doublings in the monteverdi vespers of 1610

Horses_of_Basilica_San_Marco.jpg via Wikimedia Commons

by Greg Ingles, Music Director of Dark Horse Consort
Ahead of Choral Arts' performance of Claudio Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610)
New Year's Eve, December 31, 2017

If one has the fortune to see a live performance of the Vespers of 1610, it is immediately apparent that the instruments double the vocal parts in 80% of the work. It may come as a surprise that these doublings are not notated in any of the various partbooks, but follow the renaissance practice of colla parte (with the part). Aside from the opening Dixit Dominus, the Sonata and a few instrumental obligato lines in the Magnificat, the lion’s share of the instrumental part is doubling the voices.

Rather than viewing the original partbooks as a seeming blank canvas for orchestration, it may be more correct to conceive of them as a fresh coloring book; with all of the outlines there but with the decisions of color and shading left blank for interpretation. Does the music director want a traditional performance? One that is wildly inventive? Exceedingly artistic? All are possible, and most have been tried at least once.

When deciding where to add instrumental doublings one should not choose passages arbitrarily. It takes careful consideration to make the added instrumental colors an effective addition, whether with a choir of 10 or 100. One can see that it makes far more sense to double the polyphonic settings such as Dixit Dominus and Laudate pueri rather than the soloistic settings of Nigra sum and Pulchra es amica mea. The soloistic motets are examples of the highest form of artistry and expression, and as such, are full of scalar runs, diminutions and other ornamentation. Monteverdi was one of the earliest composers to wrestle the use of ornamentation away from the performer, keeping control of the final product in the hands of the composer. It would be far too difficult to double a vocalist during elaborate passagi, and thus, these movements are best left to the singers alone.
 
In my mind, Text and Texture are the two most important elements when determining when and where instrumental doubling of vocal parts is appropriate. The most obvious case for including doubling is its use to accentuate the meaning of the text. Half way through the Audi cœli, the texture changes from a solo baritone voice to that of the entire polyphonic choir, all singing the word Omnes. This word, meaning everyone, is an ideal place to have the instruments join the singers. Having literally “everyone” come in at that point in the piece greatly adds to the contrasting full texture. Many of the Vespers sections similar to this one, with soloists merging into full choir, are ideal places to add the instruments.
 
When doubling a voice with an instrument it is exceedingly important to make sure that the articulations and phrasing match the voice exactly, supporting the vocal texture without obliterating the actual words.

As an example, consider the text:
 
Ave maris stella                                 Hail, O Star of the ocean,
Dei Mater alma                                  God’s own mother blest

Members of Dark Horse Consort

The subject of the first phrase is Star, or stella. When playing this phrase the instrumentalist starts softer and gradually grows to the word stella. For an added level of sophistication, one considers the word stress of stel-la, accenting the first syllable. Thus, as one grows to the word stella in the first phrase, one immediately decays once the first syllable is uttered, decrescendoing on the second syllable of that word. In the second phrase the important word is Mater, so one would start the phrase softly on Dei, peak at the “Ma” of Mater and fall away on the word alma. Word by word, phrase by phrase, every bit of text and punctuation is considered until one can hardly distinguish between the voice and the instrument, both in perfect balance.  

RELATED LINKS:

Live Performance of Monteverdi Vespers of 1610: December 31, 2017
Press Release

about the Author

Greg Ingles is the music director of Dark Horse Consort (on the far right, see photo above), the early music ensemble based in San Francisco and dedicated to unearthing the majestic late Renaissance and early Baroque repertoire for brass instruments. Inspired by the bronze horse statues in Venice’s famed St. Mark’s Basilica, the ensemble attempts to recreate the glorious sounds of composers such as Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz. Dark Horse often expands to include vocalists and strings, which when combined recreates the rapturous kaleidoscope that was the sound of the early 17th century instrumental ensemble.
 
Dark Horse Consort has been featured on the San Francisco Early Music Series, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Renaissance and Baroque Society (Pittsburgh), in addition to multiple appearances throughout North America with vocal and instrumental groups such as The Toronto Consort, Blue Heron Choir (Boston), The Rose Ensemble (Minneapolis), Piffaro (Philadelphia), Tenet (NYC), Bach Collegium San Diego,  Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran (NYC), and the Clarion Music Society (NYC).