Musically Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers stands at a watershed, looking backwards to 16th-century polyphony and forwards to the homophonic, melodic and dramatic styles of the 17th-century, which Monteverdi helped to pioneer. The fusion of plainchant, madrigal and operatic styles contrast to help sustain the musical interest over the work’s unusually large span, comprising five Vespers psalms, Ave Maris Stella, the Magnificat, and a number of shorter motets.