Selva morale e spirituale
Selva morale e spirituale is the short title of a collection of sacred music by the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, published in Venice in 1640 and 1641. The title translates to "Moral and Spiritual Forest". The full title is: "Selva / Morale e Spirituale / di Clavdio Monteverde / Maestro di Capella della Serenissima / Republica Di Venetia / Dedicata / alla Sacra Cesarea Maesta dell' Imperatrice / Eleonora / Gonzaga / Con Licenza de Superiori & Priuilegio. / In Venetia M DC X X X X / Appresso Bartolomeo Magni".
History
Selva morale e spirituale was Monteverdi's "most significant anthology of liturgical works since the Vespers in 1610". The collection of various works in different instrumentation was published in Venice in 1640 and 1641. While the 1610 publication summarizes Monteverdi's sacred works written for Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Selva morale e spirituale presents works composed at San Marco, Venice, where Monteverdi had served since 1613. The collection was dedicated to Eleonora Gonzaga and published by Bartolomeo Magni. The date in the original title is 1640, but the process of publishing lasted until 1641. The edition is considered Monteverdi's testament of church music, compiled when he was already 74 years old.Content
The collection contains various forms of sacred music, from madrigals in Italian to a complete mass, the instrumentation varying between a single voice to eight voices with instruments:- The first three works are moral madrigals on poems in Italian by Francesco Petrarca and Angelo Grillo.
- The mass, Messa à 4 da capella, is set in stile antico for four voices and basso continuo. It is complemented by a seven-part Gloria à 7 in stile concertato, and separate parts of the Credo, such as Crucifixus, Et resurrexit and Et iterum.
- A prominent feature of the anthology is psalms compositions, especially the ones used regularly for a vespers service such as Dixit Dominus, Confitebor tibi Domine, Beatus Vir, Laudate pueri Dominum and Laudate Dominum, most of them in various settings.
- The collection also contains settings of Marian hymns such as the Magnificat in two versions, and three settings of Salve Regina. The last section contains motets for a single voice.
Table of contents
Following is the original table of contents in Italian:AO Ciechi il tanto affaticar Madrigale morale a 5 voci & due violiniVoi ch'ascoltate Madrigale morale a 5 voci & due violiniE questa vita un lampo a 5 vociSpontava il di Canzonetta morale a 3 vociChi vol che m'innamori Canzonetta morale a 3 con due violiniMessa a 4 da capella
- Gloria a 7 voci concertata con due violini & quattro viole da brazzoCrucifixus a quattro voci. Basso Tenore Quinto & AltoEt resurrexit a due Soprani o Tenori con due violiniEt iterum a 3 voci. Basso & due Contralti Concertato con quatro Tron-
- Motetto a Voce sola in Basso Ab æterno ordinata sumDixit Primo a 8 voci concertato con due violini & quattro viole on Tron-Dixit secondo a 8 voci concertato co gli stessi istromenti del primo &Confitebor Primo a 3 voci con 5 altre voce ne repleni Confitebor Secondo a 3 voci concertato con due violini Confitebor Terzo alla francese a 5 voci quali si può concertare se piaceràBeatus primo a 6 voci concertato con due violini & 3 viole da brazzo ove-Beatus Secondo a 5 voci qual si pou cantare ridoppiato & forte o come piaceràLaudate pueri Primo a 5 concertato con due violiniLaudate Pueri Secondo a 5 vociLaudate dominum omnes gentes Primo a 5 voci concertato con due violi-Laudate Dominum Secondo a 8 voci & due violiniLaudate Dominum Terzo a 8 vociCredidi a 8 voci da CapellaMemento a 8 voci da CapellaSanctorum meritis Primo a voce sola e due violini sopra alla qual aria siSanctorum meritis secondo a voce sola concertato con due violini sopraIste Confessor voce sola & due violini sopra alla qual Aria si puo cantareDeus tuorum militum Hinno con doi violiniMagnificat Primo a 8 voci con 2 violini e 4 viole ovvero 4 tromboni quali in accidente si possono lasciareMagnificat Secondo a quatro voci in genere da CapellaSalve regina con dentro un Ecco voce sola risposta d'ecco & due violiniSalve Regina a 2 voci due Tenori o due sopraniSalve Regina a 3 voci Alto Basso & Tenore o Soprano
Recordings
Selva morale e spirituale is a collection of individual works, not intended to be performed in that order. An early recording of the complete collection was performed by the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, conducted by Michel Corboz, in 1965 to 1967. Several movements have been grouped to form vespers services. A vespers sequence was recorded in 1992 by Musica Fiata, including Dixit Dominus II, Confitebor I, Beatus vir I, Laudate pueri I, Laudate Dominum III, Magnificat I and Salve Regina. The vocal movements were combined with instrumental works of Giovanni Picchi from his Canzoni da sonar. A first complete recording of all works was recorded in 2001 by Cantus Cölln. A 2003 recording of the Ensemble Vocal Akadèmia combined movements to masses and vespers. In a similar approach, the ensemble La Venexiana provided in 2008 two vespers and a mass, trying to recreate the solemn mass which celebrated the cessation of the plague in Venice on 21 November 1631. In 2019 the Washington D.C. ensemble The Thirteen performed an acclaimed Lost Vespers reconstructed out of the Selva to evoke the Feast of St. John the Baptist, and leading to calls for future performances and recordings from Monteverdi's magnum opus.- Michel Corboz, Ensemble Vocal et Instrumental de Lausanne, Erato Records 1965–87, reissued 6 CDs 2009
- Monteverdi: Selva Morale e Spirituale, La Capella Ducale / Musica Fiata Köln, Roland Wilson 1992
- Konrad Junghänel, Cantus Cölln, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 2001
- Françoise Lasserre, Akadêmia Vocal Ensemble, ZigZag Territoires, 2003
- Gabriel Garrido, Ensemble Elyma, Ambronay CD, 2005
- Claudio Cavina, La Venexiana, 3 CDs, Glossa GCD 920915, 2008
- The Sixteen, Harry Christophers, 2010
- Pablo Heras-Casado, Balthasar-Neumann Choir and Ensemble, Harmonia Mundi HMM 902355, 2017