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Monteverdi Choir

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Monteverdi Choir is a British choir that has existed since 1964 and is counted among the most influential choirs in the world. Sir John Eliot Gardiner founded it for a performance of Claudio Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine in King's College Chapel in Cambridge. The choir is known for its stylish conviction and its wide repertoire, from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. It often performs with the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, which Gardiner also founded.

Music and breakthrough

The first recordings appeared in the 1970s and 1980s, with Music for Queen Mary, Messiah, King Arthur, Solomon, Vespro della Beata Vergine, 1610 and St. John Passion. In the year 2000, the 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach's death, the choir and the English Baroque Soloists travelled to more than sixty historic churches in Europe and a few in the United States on the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage. Almost all of Bach's church cantatas were performed and recorded there.

Influence

In 2014 the choir celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a repeat performance of the Monteverdi Vespers from King's College Chapel, broadcast live by BBC Radio 3. In 2023 it sang at the coronation of King Charles III. In 2024 it was named best choir at the Oper! Awards in Amsterdam, and in that year Gardiner stepped down as artistic director. The choir showed how early music, with sharp, clear singing, could captivate a large audience.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a movement from the Vespro della Beata Vergine, 1610 and notice how the voices enter right after one another, so that the choir moves as a whole.

Discography

Studio albums

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