Giovanni Rovetta / O Maria

from Ghirlanda Sacra (Venice, 1625)
Perrine Devillers soprano
Elam Rotem organ
Sound engineer: Karel Valter
Organ built by Jens Steinhoff and Francesco Zanin
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland
Produced for a special episode of earlymusicsources.com :
• Virtuosic Venetian mon...
January 2021

[@AndromedaCripps]

Absolutely beautiful. I’ve listened to this recording many times over the past couple years since watching Early Music Sources’ video on the piece. I run a DnD module for which all the background music I use is HIPP early music or folk music, mostly ranging from around 1550-1750, along with a good number of folk music from a while later (into the 1800’s) and a healthy dose of decidedly medieval or renaissance pieces (a lot of shawm, rackett, viol, etc.). This evening the module mentioned that the players would hear the sound of a “strong female voice accompanied by pipe organ” and my mind immediately went to this recording!!! It fits quite nicely into the sound world I’ve built for the game, and was a great excuse for my players to get to listen to one of my favorite recordings 😁 The only issue is- I’ve unfortunately cast Elam and Perrine as evil giant sisters, since the book went on to explain that those were the characters that were performing said music!!! 😂😂😂

[@ianpgv]

What an amazingly beautiful rendering of this piece of music. Many thanks.

[@Philaster3000]

this is simply gorgeous!

[@emmerich2080]

not only expert level singing and playing but also expert sound engineer!

[@victorpianoandviolin]

It is amazing How many times I’ve heard this recording

[@mooretuba]

Exquisite! I'm grateful that this entire performance is linked from Elam's Early Music Sources, where there is a comprehensive mini-course on this work. That is from one of the most inventive periods of all music history.

[@yordankaacosta2849]

Beautiful singing!!❤ I came from Early Music/Elam Rotem. Greetings from Miami. 🏖

[@keithjohnson5874]

Her singing is always so beautiful!

[@MrAlex84006]

MUSIC PARADISE!!!

[@mathyys]

What a tone. What a reverb and acoustics. Amazing.

[@RalphLooij]

Wonderful singing! Your voice is very fitting for this music, clean and a subtle use of vibrato. Thanks!

[@peethedelund4089]

Wow, thanks! What a gem you've found. And what a stunningly beautiful performance! 😍

[@silviomp]

Unreal! Wonderful! Marvelous! I don't have words. You've touched my soul.

[@rodneyferris4089]

O Maria! ❤

[@danielbell8231]

Again a Stellar performance of this twosome, Demi-God like musicians!

[@user-qo3eb9sf4i]

עילם, מתי תופיעו ארץ. מחכים לכם בכליון עיניים.

[@nixonkutz3018]

Stunning! And the "breakdown" video is wonderful also. Thanks so much for this beautiful performance.

[@piergiovannipioli6292]

Grazie per l'ottima esecuzione: i migliori auguri dall'Italia

[@marinapegrisch1305]

☺😇💥👏👏👏 Thank You :)

[@hervedavidh4117]

Early Music sources led me here! Thank you for such perfection!

[@ArthurSieg]

I love that chromatic passage at 3:16. That feels just perfect.

[@DUNCZI]

Just perfect.

[@stellario82]

Paradisiac...

[@turandotfurst5678]

Assolutamente divino!!!

[@capellaconcertata3069]

Fantastique ! Et quel bel art de l'ornementation.

[@laurence4910]

Magnifique, Perrine ! Bravo à vous deux. Bises de Rouen !

[@GoodFantomas]

It's great, the piece is beautiful, the interpretation absolutely brilliant, but especially I love the meantone organ tuning. Thank you! :-)

[@GoodFantomas]

@OrganicOrganist Sure. None of the common Baroque temperaments have such sharp thirds and if you listen carefully, almost all the thirds in any chord are pure, especially D major, Bb major, E major. If you know the tuning, you can recognize it quite easily. I guess it's 1/4 comma, but that's just guessing, because it's the most common version and it sounds very familiar to me.

[@jweb460]

@@GoodFantomas extra keys on the keyboard also a clue this is in some kind of meantone, but having seen Elam’s temperament video I doubt it’s quarter comma

[@caballerodroopy]

This organ is very peculiar since it has four different temperaments and five different pitches, it has two different pitches for the 1/4 meantone temperament : 440hz and 465hz. The stop that is drawn here is the 440hz Principale 12’. You can read the detail of the stops if you find the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Facebook page that gives snap shots of their new continuo organ. Of course only the stops with same pitch and temperament are meant to be played together, the bourdon and holzflöte are solo stops only. This organ is the bizarre combination of five continuo organs for studying purpose !

[@carlosrodriguezotero9290]

Heavenly.

[@heronimus118]

Makes me think of Nigra sum, by the mysterious Carlo G. Of course same actors! Beautiful!

[@caballerodroopy]

Magnifique !!!

[@maxjohn6012]

Marvelous. The sonority of the final note, in particular, was uncanny. Thanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed it.

[@maxjohn6012]

Just coming back to confirm that that final cadence and the last note are still goosebump-inducing!

[@davidhunter5081]

Wonderful sound singer and accompanist this and so many other recordings made by them are worth hearing and rehearing..

[@albarainbow]

AMAZING, THANK YOU!! Thank you for sharing your talent, exquisit taste and passion for art

[@silviomp]

Perfection

[@miriamcosta2707]

Bravissima. Meraviglioso

[@margritkunz7955]

It's so great. Falls myselve with Sun and hope.

[@bordone64]

BRAVI!!!

[@genevievemadore4773]

Voix magnifique et musique superbe !

[@franarmidazainaab816]

exquisite performance!

[@DUNCZI]

Once I visit this site I had got a relief by the beauty itself!!!

[@isabellecaroliner770]

Merci pour ce moment d’émotion ; j’espère pouvoir venir vous écouter à l’Opéra de Caen.

[@wildembergvieira1644]

Que voz cristalina!!! Muito bom...

[@mariobarbato4745]

superb

[@drogers447]

Very touching and beautiful performance

[@user_g41b4t91yy]

So Beautiful!

[@federicoriccobono651]

Davvero bellissima interpretazione! Vere pulchra interpretatione!

[@rominadelafuente8423]

So Perfect 🥺❤️

[@lauramingo2027]

Exceptional!!!!

[@grocheo1]

So beautiful voice and interpretation! Thank you

[@roveredam]

Fantastici !

[@cliffcolter9161]

Absolutely Beautiful Voice! Well done!

[@antoineminiconi4943]

Beautiful

[@antoninopirrone2541]

👏👏👏👏🌺💐♥️💕

[@opusrosae8560]

Magnifique ❤

[@annaugoliniarte]

Magnifica!

[@emastrovito]

Magnificent singing!!

[@benedettosalamone7813]

WOOOW!

[@rodolfoalcazarportillo8960]

Impressive performance. This is your second video? More, please!

[@WerIstWieJesus]

Cantasti formosissime et etiam tu candida atque nigra es. Dedisti honorem ad Matrem Dei.

[@markusinderwies1902]

Traum

[@emeseszeghalmi6921]

🌷🎶🥀

[@VictorLombardi]

Latin text O Maria, quam pulchra es, Quam dulcis es. Tu es formosa mea, Tu es speciosa mea. Candida et nigra sum, Sed formosa simul. Nolite me considerare quod fusca sim, Quia decoloravit me sol. Ille qui coronavit me, decoloravit me. English translation O Mary, how beautiful you are, How sweet you are. You are my most beautiful one My most gracious one. I am fair yet also black, Black but beautiful. Pay no heed to my dark hue For the sun has altered my color. The same sun that has crowned me, also altered my colour.

[@jj-nu2ke]

You're a goddess?