"Naxos, in their ever-continuing quest to give us the entire classical repertoire at an affordable price, have begun yet another series of recordings that is certain to bear great riches if this introductory outing is any indication. In a most consistently outstanding recital of Antonio Vivaldi’s sacred vocal works, Kevin Mallon and his Aradia Ensemble prove themselves to be on a par with any of the fine baroque orchestras and choirs active today. Add to the complement a fine roster of soloists and you have a package that is close to irresistible.

Vivaldi, known to Venetians as "the red priest" for the combination of his first calling and his red hair, spent a goodly portion of his career as master of the music for the Ospedale della Pieta, an institution for orphaned and illegitimate girls. Apparently the lack of social good fortune did not hamper the abundance of musical gifts present in the place. In addition to his voluminous output of concertos and chamber music, he was also quite prolific in his writing for the church. If this disc is a harbinger of things to come, I will be anxiously awaiting each new issue in this series.

Opening with the Vesper psalm Dixit Dominus, we get treated to a choral ensemble of exquisite refinement and an orchestra of delightful aplomb. Jane Archibald and Michele de Boer are a divine pair of sirens in their strikingly well blended and beautiful duet singing. Maestro Mallon is the apex of taste and style in this well paced performance. He is to be particularly commended for the ultra-elegant singing of his choir, and for the careful attention to enunciation. Each word is clearly audible and understandable, even to the untrained ear.

Ms. Archibald returns to deliver the gorgeous motet Nulla in mundo pax sincera, delightful in its captivating compound meter. This is singing of the first order, devoid of the "earlier than thou" trappings of many baroque specialists, and completely convincing in its sincerity, clarity and intonation. To say more would endanger my credibility given that I would want nothing more than to gush on about the ravishing beauty of this singing.

The concluding work, the lesser known of the two extant settings of the Gloria, is another winner for its pacing and vocal and instrumental refinement. The work opens with an interpolated motet, lovely as a piece of music, but a bit of a let-down in performance. Alas, mezzo-soprano Anita Krause, whose rich voice is a pleasurable enough listen, over-blows her coloratura passages, approaching them too heavily and without a solid core to the pitch. They start to sound like the starter mechanism of an old car on a cold day. To her credit, however, in the more liquid and lyrical longer-noted passages, she sings with serenity and color that is quite lovely.

Sound quality and program notes are very fine indeed. Jump on this one. A winner on all fronts."

--Review by Kevin Sutton, MusicWeb, January 12, 2005

"The new Naxos album, the first of a new series that will span all of Vivaldi's sacred choral music, brings us the little-known "Dixit Dominus," as well as two other works, "Nulla in mundo pax sincera" and "Jubilate, o amoeni chori." All three make welcome discoveries. "Dixit Dominus" was unearthed as late as the 1960s and has many pages just as inspired as the familiar "Gloria." Soprano Jane Archibald makes a particularly strong impression in the "Virgam virtutis," while tenor Nils Brown, bass Giles Tomkins and countertenor Peter Mahon blend seamlessly in the "Gloria patri." The Toronto-based Aradia Ensemble's period instrumentalists provide graceful, committed support. Naxo's latest Vivaldi project is off to an auspicious start. "

--Review by John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, December 5, 2004

"Naxos could well be on to a big winner with Kevin Mallon and his fine Aradia ensemble. Mallon captures the underlying effect of each movement in the Venetian composer's 'alternative' Dixit Dominus and Gloria settings without throwing all caution, and good taste, to the wind. The benefits are obvious in the Dixit, helped by distinguished solo singing and eloquent, rich-toned instrumental playing. " --Review by Andrew Stewart, Classic FM Magazine, December 2004

"Jane Archibald, who copes fearlessly with the coloratura of 'Dominus a dextris tuis', does equally well in the 'Alleluia' of Nulla in mundo, and she tastefully decorates the reprise of the da capo siciliana with which the motet begins. "

--Review by Richard Lawrence, Gramophone, November 2004

"There are already at least two series of Vivaldi's sacred music on-going. Robert King and his King's Consort are recording for Hyperion and Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano for Opus 111. The Opus 111 set covers more than just sacred music; it is a brave attempt to encompass all of Vivaldi's music that is held in manuscript in the National University Library in Turin.

Now, the Canadian-based Aradia Ensemble have recorded a disc of Vivaldi's sacred music for Naxos. This is billed as volume 1 of a collection of sacred music. Rather enterprisingly, as the centre-piece of this disc the group features the lesser known of Vivaldi's settings of the Gloria. This is combined with the second of his Dixit Dominus settings and the solo motet, 'Nulla in mundo pax sincera'. All the pieces on this disc date from the period after 1713, when Vivaldi started writing sacred music for the Pieta because of the departure of the maestro di coro, Gasparini. This, of course, leads to the eternally fascinating question of whether any of these pieces were performed at the Pieta. Andrew Parrott has recorded the more well known Gloria with just female chorus (transposing the men's parts up an octave), but here Kevin Mallon wisely sticks to a more traditional allocation of parts.

The Dixit Dominus, K595 is scored for two oboes, trumpet, strings and continuo with five soloists (two sopranos, alto, tenor and bass) and five-part chorus. The recording opens in fine fashion with a crisp introduction from the Aradia Ensemble, full of rhythmic bounce and fine, decisive singing from their chorus. The forces used are relatively small, choir of fifteen and just twelve strings so their style is light, crisp and incisive. The first soprano aria is delightfully sung by the soprano soloist (either Jane Archibald or Michele de Boer - the booklet is vague on this issue) and the two of them combine beautifully for their duet. Both soloists have a pleasant vibrato which adds warmth to their voices, but which can lead to a certain fuzziness when the vocal line becomes more elaborate, as in the second soprano solo. The solo trumpet which leads into the aria, 'Judicabit in nationibus' leads us to expect great things but mezzo-soprano Anita Krause has a voice whose timbre and use of vibrato does not lend itself well to music of this period. She acquits herself creditably, but I would have liked more edge and far more sense of line; something that the counter-tenor, tenor and bass soloists bring to the delightful trio setting of Gloria patri.

The motet, 'Nulla in mundo pax sincera', is written for solo soprano, strings and continuo with an anonymous text. It is a delightful piece, with a Siciliano opening movement that evokes sacred peace. The temptations of the world are described in the recitative and this is followed by an elaborate da capo aria and a concluding Alleluia. Soprano Jane Archibald is well supported by the lively accompaniment of the Aradia Ensemble. Here, as in all the pieces on the disc, Kevin Mallon's speeds are well chosen. Archibald has a fine sense of style in this music, but there were occasions when I felt her upper register came under strain.

The Gloria has elements which remind you of the more well known version. It is performed with its Introduzion, 'Jubilate, o amoeni chori', a lively da capo aria for the soprano soloist (Jane Archibald), followed by a recitative and linking passage leading to the opening movement of the Gloria. Archibald's contribution is perhaps not quite technically brilliant enough to make up for the twinge of disappointment one can feel at the lack of a good choral opening. This is more than made up for in the choir's fine contribution to the first movement of the Gloria proper. But in the 'Et in Terra pax', the choir's vivacity and liveliness cannot quite compensate for a lack of suaveness in the descending passages. Again the two soprano soloists have a lovely duet and both the tenor (Nils Brown) and mezzo-soprano (Anita Krause) have solo contributions. Brown acquits himself well, but I had the same doubts about Krause as I did in the Dixit Dominus.

For anyone wanting to start exploring the byways of Vivaldi's sacred music, this disc would make an excellent start. The Aradia Ensemble are fine stylists and the results are lively attractive performances. The choir are a small, focused group but there are only fifteen of them and the tone in the tenors and altos can get a little nasal and lacking in amplitude. Just occasionally, though, I missed the polish, intensity and depth of sound that characterises the recordings of this repertoire on Hyperion and Opus 111. On this disc, vitality is coupled with a directness and occasional, appealing rawness, whereas both Robert King and Rinaldo Alessandrini manage to combine intensity with liveliness and a smooth sophistication. And their soloists, are frankly, a cut above those on this disc, though the Canadians acquit themselves more than creditably.

But, of course, none of the discs are completely comparable when it comes to repertoire. Anyone wanting the Dixit Dominus, RV595 and Gloria, RV 588 in Robert King's performances would have to look to two discs, each with its own delightful selection from Vivaldi's lovely sacred music. The answer is not to hesitate; at super-budget price we can just go out and buy this disc as well."

--Review by Robert Hugill, MusicWeb, November 2004