For a long time, we have subsisted on a fine version recorded in concert in Berlin, in 1974, performed by Vittorio Negri for the now-defunct Philips label. It was graced by some very lively conducting from great soloists including Elly Ameling (a magnificent Vaghaus), Birgit Finilä and Julia Hamari. The memory of this Juditha Triumphans is reinforced once again by the display on this album from Alia Vox which reproduces the famous work by Cristofani Allori, which hangs today in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
First performed in Venice in 1716 to mark the victory of the Most Serene Republic over the Turks, this religious opera was written for the orphans of the girls' orphanage of Ospedale della Pietà, hence its all-female cast. This is the only one of Vivaldi's oratorios which has survived to the present day, and in its dramatic force and expressive power it heralds the coming of Georg Friedrich Handel's great oratorios. Recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris at a concert played in October 2018, this is one of the latest projects of the ever-inventive Jordi Savall. And it is Savall who captivates us most of all, thanks to the care taken over the details of an orchestra made up of a very wide variety of the instruments that were used in the famous Venetian institution: end-blown flutes, a chalumeau, clarinettes, a viola and a mandolin.
Among the soloists on this recording, we should give particular attention to the vocal valiance of Rachel Redmond, who plays a very convincing servant of Holofernes, her musical agility reaching its peak in the aria Armatae Face. Jordi Savall shines new light on this score, imbuing it with an energy that unites charm and drama in a perfect balance. © François Hudry/Qobuz