Tallis Scholars Victoria

During the years before and after 1600, Portugal produced a small crop of masterful Requiem Masses. All of them seem to have taken Victoria's famous six-voice Requiem as a model, setting the traditional chant melodies in long notes in one of the soprano parts, accompanied by harmonious chords rather than imitative counterpoint. The Requiem by Duarte Lôbo presented here is a particularly good example. Like his compatriots, Lôbo composed his Requiem in a major tonality; Victoria's captivating gloom is replaced by an equally captivating sweetness–this funeral music is anything but morose. The Missa vox clamantis is altogether more extroverted, with a striking octave leap that begins every movement. Peter Phillips and the Tallis Scholars give the skillful, sonorous performances we've come to expect from them.

Known in his lifetime as 'El cantor de Maria', Guerrero was second only to Victoria in Spanish renaissance music. His Marian motets are celebrated as some of the most beautiful compositions of the period: we include five of the best, including Ave virgo sanctissima, one of the most loved and imitated pieces of polyphony from any country.

A sublime survey of sacred music of the high Renaissance, Hyperion's 2018 release Amarae Morti offers transparent performances by Peter Phillips and the a cappella chamber choir El León de Oro. Covering music of the Franco-Flemish and Iberian schools, the program follows a trajectory from darkness to light, from somber motets by Dominique Phinot, Orlande de Lassus, Nicolas Gombert, and Manuel Cardoso to glorious works by Tomás Luis de Victoria, Cristóbal de Morales, and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. There is a consistency of subjects in the program, which includes settings of the Lamentations, Media Vita, the Regina Coeli, and the Magnificat, revealing different treatments of these familiar texts and varying levels of complexity and contrapuntal mastery, which culminate in the magnificent polychoral works of Victoria and Palestrina.

Magnificat delivers once again; ‘Where late the sweet birds sang’ is a gorgeous contrapuntal choral collection of works by three of the leading Elizabethan composers, featuring some of the repertoire’s best singers. Since the time of Byrd Westminster and Winchester Cathedrals have been renowned as two of England’s finest choral cathedrals. The choristers on this recording, from Westminster and Winchester, maintain that lineage, their voices blending seamlessly and naturally.

John Dunstaple (c. 1390-1453) - Musician to the Plantagenets - Orlando Consort (1995) {Metronome METCD1009}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 336 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 173 Mb
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© 1995 Metronome Recordings | METCD1009
Classical / Medieval / Early Renaissance / Polyphony / Choral

John Dunstaple was one of the most celebrated composers of the medieval period. Tantalisingly little is known about him, and what little is known is tantalising. He served in the courts of the family of Henry V and two pieces here were performed in Canterbury Cathedral to celebrate Henry V's victory at Agincourt. The booklet includes illustrations from the only known surviving Dunstaple autograph manuscript, an astronomical treatise in Emmanuel College library. "A treasure trove of unfamiliar and little heard masterpieces, this imaginative record is a model of what can be achieved when scholars and performers genuinely collaborate"