Monteverdi: Selva Morale E Spirituale by Michel Corboz (2026 Remastered, Lausanne 1967)

Although four centuries have passed since the death of Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), one may say that he remains one of the most fascinating figures in the history of modern music. He lived at a decisive moment in history: the period that witnessed both the decline of a cappella vocal polyphony and the birth of music drama. His art marks, in a sense, the beginning of a musical era to which our own time still belongs. His exceptional longevity allowed him to experience the flourishing of the madrigal, with Luca Marenzio and Carlo Gesualdo, as well as the earliest developments of opera: in Florence, in Rome, and later in Venice.

Monteverdi sought, as he himself said, to unite melody so closely with the words that it “would resemble a body without a soul” if the words were removed. Melody and harmony were born of the text; and in order to give life to a dramatic situation, Monteverdi employed harmonies of unprecedented boldness.

He wrote for specific instruments, assigning to each a distinct role and a characteristic voice. To increase the expressive power of the string instruments, he invented pizzicato (plucking the strings) and tremolo (a trembling on a single note); for all the instruments, he created new and compelling rhythms. Monteverdi developed recitative with a keen sense of the character’s psychology. Yet although expression was his sole aim, he did not neglect melody: he truly achieved the ideal balance between words and music.

The collection Selva morale e spirituale, published in Venice in 1640, is the last work engraved during his lifetime. It brings together around forty pieces, including a Mass and Mass fragments, psalms, hymns, and motets, most likely written within the highly prestigious framework of his position as maestro di cappella at St Mark’s Basilica.

Taken as a whole, the concerted pages of the Selva morale e spirituale shine with the same brilliance as Monteverdi’s secular works, quite simply because the composer draws on the same means. It is the richness of his melodic writing and his combinations of timbre, his luminous alternation between voices and instruments, that convinces us of the theatrical subjectivity of his sacred style.

Revealed to the general public by the Erato Records label, the musician and choir director devoted to sacred music, founder of the Ensemble vocal de Lausanne in 1961, left behind around one hundred recordings, including benchmark versions of works by Monteverdi, Bach, and Mendelssohn. What fascinated Michel Corboz (1934–2021) about the human being was the voice—above all the speaking voice—“a cry of nature,” much like laughter. To exalt this voice, this timbre, this unique color, was the mission to which he devoted himself, forging a powerful, passionate bond with his choristers and seeking to lead them toward a shared joy in music. This remastered edition honors the maestro’s vocal artistry, offering a sound presence and naturalness of timbre never before achieved.