Monteverdi: Selva morale e spirituale Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Pablo Heras-Casado, Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble

• Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643): Selva morale e spirituale, SV 252-288:
• 1 Dixit Dominus secondo 07:47
• 2 Confitebor secondo 05:05
• 3 Iste confessor primo 02:30
• 4 O ciechi, ciechi 03:05
• 5 Jubilet tota civitas 04:19
• 6 Salve Regina 06:06
• 7 Laudate pueri Dominum primo 06:45
• 8 Laudate Dominum terzo 04:06
• 9 Ut queant laxis 03:00
• 10 Crucifixus 02:09
• 11 Et resurrexit 01:28
• 12 Et iterum 01:26
• 13 Voi ch’ascoltate 04:34
• 14 Salve Regina 05:54
• 15 Magnificat primo 12:27
• Total Runtime 01:10:41

Info for Monteverdi: Selva morale e spirituale

A musical manifesto? Pablo Heras-Casado, leading the musicians of the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble into the heart of Monteverdi’s “Moral and Spiritual Forest”, captures the magic of its madrigals, psalm settings, Marian hymns, motets and mass settings collected in the monumental 1640 publication which forms a summation of the composer’s life’s work. His intensive activity as “maestro di cappella” at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice – a veritable haven for the musical avant-garde of his day – is typified by this selection of the choicest gems chosen from the imposing anthology.

In 2017 the world of music marks the 450th anniversary of the birth of Claudio Monteverdi, an apt occasion for the Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado to tackle the anthology Selva morale e spirituale with the Balthasar Neumann Choir and Ensemble. Two tours of Spain and a CD are planned. “I have been dreaming of the Selva morale since I was a teenager,” says the conductor. “It was only recently that I was able to fulfil my wish to go on a pilgrimage to St Mark’s in Venice. And now this dream, too, is about to come true.”

Balthasar-Neumann-Chor und -Solisten
Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble
Pablo Heras-Casado, direction

Pablo Heras-Casado
Musical America’s 2014 Conductor of the Year, Pablo Heras-Casado enjoys an unusually varied career encompassing the great symphonic and operatic repertoire, historically-informed performance and cutting-edge contemporary scores. Principal Conductor of Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York since the 2012/13 season, he recently renewed the position to 2016/17. In 2014, he was appointed as the Principal Guest Conductor of Teatro Real in Madrid.

In 2014/15, Heras-Casado returns to the London Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Mariinsky Theatre and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He also appears at the Mozarteum Salzburg, where he is invited annually for both the Dialoge Festival and Mozartwoche. He makes his debut with NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg and continues his collaboration with Ensemble intercontemporain and Freiburger Barockorchester. He also conducts the annual televised Advent Concert of Staatskapelle Dresden. Opera projects include returns to The Metropolitan Opera (Carmen), Festspielhaus Baden-Baden (La traviata), Teatro Real (world premiere of Mauricio Sotelo’s El Publico) and Dutch National Opera with Sasha Waltz & Guests (Monteverdi’s Orfeo).

Past highlights include performances with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Royal Concertgebouw and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and Cleveland orchestras, Philharmonia Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Deutsche Oper Berlin. He has also appeared at the Salzburger Festspiele and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and is a laureate of the 2007 Lucerne Festival conductors’ forum, where he returned in 2013 to co-direct the festival's Academy at the invitation of Pierre Boulez.

Heras-Casado records for harmonia mundi and Deutsche Grammophon’s Archiv Produktion - for which he is an “Archiv Ambassador.” Recent releases include Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.2 with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Schubert’s Symphonies Nos.3 & 4 with Freiburger Barockorchester – which won a 2014 ECHO Klassik award – and an album celebrating the legendary maestro Farinelli. He also recorded an album featuring Plácido Domingo in baritone arias by Giuseppe Verdi. His 2011 DVD of Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny received the Diapason d’Or.

Pablo Heras-Casado is holder of the Medalla de Honor of the Rodriguez Acosta Foundation. In February 2012, he was awarded the Golden Medal of Merit by the Council of Granada, his hometown, of which he is also an Honorary Ambassador. In June 2014, he joined Spanish charity Ayuda en Acción, supporting the eradication of poverty and injustice in the world.

Booklet for Monteverdi: Selva morale e spirituale