Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir salutes its 40th anniversary season with the release of Gloria, a program originally recorded and released by CBC Records...

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir salutes its 40th anniversary season with the release of Gloria, a program originally recorded and released by CBC Records in 2008. Ivars Taurins directs the 25-voice choir and the orchestra under Music Director Emerita Jeanne Lamon in this program of sacred baroque works that distinguishes Tafelmusik as being “head and shoulders above most of its competitors. Tafelmusik’s performance breathes such fresh life into this ancient score that it catches one up in its rare enthusiasm.” (Fanfare) Soprano Ann Monoyios, countertenor Matthew White, and tenor Colin Ainsworth are the featured vocal soloists. The recording opens with Gloria in excelsis Deo by J.S. Bach, a festive if rarely performed work that the composer later adapted for the Mass in B Minor. Paired with Vivaldi’s exuberant and joyous Gloria, Tafelmusik “emphasizes the legato of the vocal line, allowing the clipped rhythms of the accompanying orchestra to buoy the music along naturally.” (Fanfare). With its gracious airs and its lively choruses, Mondonville’s Dominus regnavit is a splendid example of the 18th-century grand motet.

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REVIEW (An excerpt of a review of a previously released edition of this album):

The program here is the most distinctive aspect of the performance: whereas most readings pair the Gloria with other Vivaldi choral works, this begins with Bach's Gloria in excelsis deo, BWV 191 -- a work in the same festive mood but packed with characteristic polyphony. In the middle comes a change of pace: de Mondonville's grand motet Dominus regnavit. It's as imposing as the Bach and Vivaldi pieces, but soberer, with dark outer choruses surrounding delicate movements for soloists and a representation of a flood that calls for virtuoso playing from both the choristers and the instrumentalists. All handle these difficulties confidently.

The program's tripartite structure casts a new light on Vivaldi's very familiar work, and this remains a strong choice for anyone getting to know Vivaldi's Gloria.

– All Music Guide (James Mannheim)