Beirach reflects: "I’ve been involved with music for my whole life but this was something I knew very little about.” Monteverdi was a visionary, yet his star waned after his death, and he only re-appeared properly in the sights of musicologists and performers in the twentieth century … and of jazz musicians too. Five pieces from Beirach’s album with Gregor Huebner and George Mraz - now out of print for some years - form the connective tissue of this album saluting the Monteverdi anniversary “in the spirit of jazz”.
A Happy 450th “in the Spirit of Jazz”When Richie Beirach recorded his 2002 album “Round About Monteverdi”, it made him reflect: "I’ve been involved with music for my whole life,” he said, “but this was something I knew very little about.” Such reflections are not uncommon; Claudio Monteverdi is one of those figures in the development of music whose role was crucial, yet whose presence is shadowy.2017 would have marked his 450th birthday: the composer, singer and viola da gamba player was born in May 1567 in Cremona in Northern Italy. Active in the twilight of the renaissance, Monteverdi was an innovator in vocal music as it moved forward into the baroque. He didn’t invent opera - he was born just a few decades too late - but was the first composer to really take it to its heights. He was a visionary, yet his star waned after his d...
BesetzungPaolo Fresu , Richard Galliano & Jan Lundgren
Richie Beirach , Gregor Huebner & George Mraz
Michael Riessler , Vincent Courtois & Singer Pur
Jan Lundgren , Lars Danielsson & The Gustaf Sjökvist Chamber Choir
Danilo Rea & Flavio Boltro
Michael Wollny Trio
Music composed by Claudio Monteverdi
Curated by Siggi Loch
Mastered by Johannes Wohlleben at Bauer Studios, Ludwigsburg
Package design by Siggi Loch
Artwork © Uwe Kowski, Selber, 2015 / ACT Art Collection,
courtesy Galerie EIGEN + ART Leipzig/Berlin
