In recent months, most new Baroque vocal discs I have bought and
mentioned on the list had at least one soloist who I felt did not
contribute sufficiently to the performance.  Last night, I was listening
to William Christe's recording of three Mondonville Grands Motets (Dominus
Regnavit, In exitu Israel, De Profundis).  What I found very gratifying
was that each vocal soloist did a great job in terms of vocal quality
and expressiveness.  There are six vocalists: Sophie Daneman, Maryseult
Wieczorek, Paul Agnew, Francois Piolino, Maarten Koningsberger, and
Francois Bazola.  Although I had a slight preference for Wieczorek whose
voice is radiant and strong, the other five also made strong contributions.
My faith in singers and the ability of musical directors to make good
choices has been restored some.

The music on the disc is very good as well.  There are some excellent
arias, and the choral passages are just a little lower in quality.
Christie's orchestra acquits itself well, and the recorded sound is great.

There has been some discussion on the list concerning a lack of "fire"
in Chirstie's belly.  I don't disagree with that assessment, but the
Mondonville motets don't call for much fire.  These are easy works to
recognize as coming from the pen of a French composer, and Christie's
at his best in the French repertoire where elegance, decorum, and an
aristocratic flow are so critical.

So, I end up feeling that these works could not be performed any better
than on the Christie recording.  This is an Erato cd with catalog number
0630-17791-2.  If French Baroque is your thing, this recording is an
essential purchase.

Don Satz
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