BBC Proms: Monteverdi's Vespers

In 2020, BBC Radio 3 is bringing together musical greats, from the past and the present, in one extraordinary Proms season. Radio 3 is broadcasting the best of four decades of unmissable Proms concerts.

French period instrument collective Pygmalion make their 2017 Proms debut in Monteverdi’s iconic Vespers of 1610. Presented by Kate Molleson.

Claudio Monteverdi: Vespers of 1610
Giuseppina Bridelli (soprano)
Eva Zaïcik (mezzo-soprano)
Emiliano Gonzalez‐Toro (tenor)
Magnus Staveland (tenor)
Virgile Ancely (bass)
Renaud Bres (bass)
Geoffroy Buffière (bass)
Ensemble Pygmalion
Director Raphaël Pichon
(From BBC Proms 2017, 31 July)

Before there was Bach's Mass in B minor or Beethoven's Missa solemnis there was Monteverdi's Vespers, a choral masterpiece of unprecedented musical scope and audacious beauty. The work's textural extremes, multiple choirs and sonic effects are brought richly to life in this 2017 Proms performance marking the 450th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

This concert was the Proms debut of award-winning French Baroque ensemble Pygmalion under its director Raphaël Pichon, together with an exciting line-up of young soloists.