The fifth volume in Robert King's acclaimed series opens with Susan Gritton singing the highly virtuosic In turbato mare, the metaphorical ship of the soul truly having a rough time at sea. This flamboyance leads to the more contemplative Non in pratis, the introduction to a Miserere setting, now lost. The famous Stabat mater then becomes the ideal vehicle to reveal the vocal sweetness of young countertenor Robin Blaze.

Three further motets round off the programme: O qui coelis includes the extraordinary aria 'Rosa qui moritur' ('The rose which dies'), plaintively sung by Susan Gritton; Deus tuorum is a simple strophic setting of this famous Hymn, but one which is strangely captivating; and the trio Confitebor tibi, Domine ranks among Vivaldi's supreme achievements in the genre.

All of the music on this album is also available as part of the specially priced box set Vivaldi: The Complete Sacred Music: ‘King has given us the ultimate Vivaldi anthology, abundant in energy, rich with emotion, animation, and color, and enshrined in Hyperion's fabled, warm, and incomparable sound’ (Fanfare, USA).