The title, the Italian composer and especially the dateline of 1610 conjures up expectations of something to match Monteverdi’s great collection of that year. And the disc encourages that with its defensive cover text: “The quality of the music is in no way inferior to that of Monteverdi.” Those in search of the dramatic thrills of the better-known 1610 Vespers will be disappointed, but Cima’s music is intimate, delicate, and often exquisitely turned. There are chromatic twists, imaginative word-setting, and added instrumental pieces and plainsong antiphons. Musica Fiorita is a small, single-voice ensemble with well-matched cornett and violin (though no trombone, which alters one inventive scoring). If this actually were a Vespers collection it would finish with a Magnificat, but it doesn’t. So it’s good, and interesting, but oversold.
