Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This was one of those happy moments when your reviewer, having listened to the hour's worth of music on this CD, smiled happily, murmured "How lovely" and listened to the whole disc again. Frankly I was surprised. A world premiere recording of Charles Avison's 1757 adaptation of Benedetto Marcello's "Estro-poetico armonico" from 18th century Venice does not, at first glance, seem that appealing. Benedetto was the younger brother of Alessandro Marcello and lived from 1686 to 1739. Benedetto was a prolific composer of sacred and secular music, both vocal and instrumental and was, in his life-time, better known than his contemporary Antonio Vivaldi. Marcello's Psalm settings were composed in Venice and quickly found fame across Europe after their publication between 1724 and 1726. The English organist and composer Charles Avison (1709 - 1770) assisted by John Garth published a version of Marcello's "Estro" in 1757, parts of which are released on this disc where we hear Psalms 11, 32, 50 and 46 in English and a Latin "infinite six voice triple canon" plus an instrumental "Ciaccona from Sonata Number 12" which allows the early music group Les Inventions a chance to shine. If your only experience of the recorder is from primary school listen to Reinhild Waldeck's playing and rejoice. Just as impressive are the eight vocalists from VOCES8 who, whether singing collectively or solo, sound marvellous. Reviews of previous releases have made comparisons with The King's Singers and The Swingle Singers and, to my ears, the comparison remains valid. While I understand why Benedetto Marcello was eventually eclipsed by Vivaldi with this release it would be possible to make a case for Marcello to be considered his equal although, of course, we can listen to and enjoy both of them.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.