Gratuitous Netflicks Musickal Review

The Tasty Bits (TM) Mail Sack is full to overflowing with inquiries along the lines of, "Tom, can you recommend any new early Baroque musickal DVD's?"

Well, it just so happens that I can, for over the weekend I watched this one:

Monteverdi - Banquet of the Senses.

It's an hour-long production by the Consort of Musick of some of Monteverdi's madrigals, presented as they might have been at the court of the Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo I Gonzaga (for whom Monteverdi worked) round about the year 1600 or so. (The per-duction is actually filmed in one of the musickal banqueting rooms of the ducal palace with lots of semi-erotic classical frescoes on the walls.)

I'd thought that it would be a straightforward concert, but it is actually something closer to an educational documentary, with commentary from Anthony Rooly, the Consort's musical director, interspersed throughout. His main point is to hammer home the sensuality of the art of the period, a sensuality that even bubbles over into religious musick, as well. (One of the trios, set for female voices, is about a woman bewailing the departure of her lover. As a side-step, almost exactly the same music is presented in a setting for male voices worshipping Christ.)

There are a few production quibbles. For one thing, there are no subtitles so if you don't have at least a nominal understanding of Italian, you're pretty much out of luck. Also, the singers obviously are lip-synching to their own pre-recordings of each piece, probably the better to execute their dance moves unhindered. Finally, the two main sopranos are the divine Emma Kirkby and Evelyn Tubb. While their voices are superb, the appearance of two such middle aged ladies in semi-transparent, back-lit gowns was a little, well, aesthetically damping. It was pointed out that in Monteverdi's day, court mistresses or professional courtesans often took the female parts, but I'm pretty sure this isn't what ol' Vincenzo had in mind.

Nonetheless, if you're a'tall interested in 400 year old Italian music (and who isn't?), this DVD is well worth an hour of your time.