Claudio Monteverdi - Vocal Works (Günter Kehr)

Information

Composer: Claudio Monteverdi

• Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, SV 153
• Madrigals, Book VII, SV 117–145: No. 1, Tempro la cetra, SV 117
• Con che soavità, SV 139
• Lamento della ninfa, SV 163: No. 3, Amor

Elisabeth Speiser, soprano

Rodolfo Malacarne, tenor

Laerte Malagutti, bass

Karlheinz Peters, bass

Mainz Chamber Orchestra

Günter Kehr, conductor

Date: 1965 / 2026

Label: Vox

_____________________

This recording showcases the dramatic artistry of Claudio Monteverdi through his Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and three madrigals. Based on Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata, the Combattimento vividly portrays the tragic duel between Tancredi and Clorinda using an expressive “stilo rappresentativo,” marking an early milestone in dramatic vocal music. Performances by Elisabeth Speiser, Rodolfo Malacarne, and Laerte Malagutti, under Günter Kehr with the Mainz Chamber Orchestra, deliver emotional intensity. Three refined madrigals complete the program, highlighting Monteverdi’s innovative vocal style at the dawn of opera.

Günter Kehr (1920–1989) was a German violinist, conductor, and pedagogue who studied in Berlin and Cologne under Alma Moodie and Hermann Zitzmann, earning a doctorate in 1941 with research on 18th-century violin technique. He founded the Kehr Trio in 1948 and later the Mainz Chamber Orchestra, which he led for decades. Kehr performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, frequently collaborating with pianist Jacqueline Eymar and recording extensively for German radio networks. He also served as director of the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz and taught chamber music at the Cologne University of Music, mentoring several notable students.

High Resolution 24-bit / 192 kHz