This 1998 Belgian recording, which has appeared in several different packages, presents a true historical-performance take on Giovanni Gabrieli, a composer still left mostly to booming choirs, and popular brass quintets. The 16-voice choir and small instrumental ensemble may be quite a shock for listeners attuned to hearing Gabrieli as an opener for brass band concerts, but they ought to stick with the recording -- it clarifies Gabrieli's complex textures and puts the listener in the middle of the intricate spaces of St. Mark's cathedral (even though it was recorded in Belgium) as few other recordings have done. The mixed-gender
Namur Chamber Choir and the instrumental ensemble
La Fenice deliver precise performances of music that in places is really very difficult (hear the brass runs in the Canzon settima à 7, track 10) -- instrumental works are interspersed among the vocal pieces. But the real star perhaps is producer and engineer Jérôme Lejeune, who brings out the shifting, kaleidoscopic qualities of these pieces -- critical, because a motet that suddenly dissolves into groups of three, for instance, would have had unmistakable symbolic significance for Gabrieli's listeners. You hear the strings, the brasses, the soloists, the multiple choirs, and nothing is swallowed up. The contributions of conductor
Jean Tubéry work in tandem with the engineering, and the singers cultivate high levels of both expression and text intelligibility.
Tubéry makes a good case for the contention that the female sopranos are a better match for the castrati who would have originally performed the music than is a boychoir -- the music, though modest in dimension, is gutsy. No texts are included, and the booklet covers the musical aspects of the Feast of the Trinity in more detail than most listeners may need, but this is nevertheless a recording that may offer a revelation for many listeners who have heard Gabrieli in the usual ways and want to learn more.