This disc compiles performances dating back to 1996, covering composers of the Renaissance and early Baroque with some connection to the Sistine Chapel or Cappella Sistina in Rome. In several cases the connection is simply that copies of the composer's works exist in the chapel's archives, and there isn't a tight focus to the program and presentation. The most noticeable thing is that the booklet goes into some detail in describing the life of the 24-member Sistine Chapel Choir, but the music, when you get to it, is sung ...
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This disc compiles performances dating back to 1996, covering composers of the Renaissance and early Baroque with some connection to the Sistine Chapel or Cappella Sistina in Rome. In several cases the connection is simply that copies of the composer's works exist in the chapel's archives, and there isn't a tight focus to the program and presentation. The most noticeable thing is that the booklet goes into some detail in describing the life of the 24-member Sistine Chapel Choir, but the music, when you get to it, is sung mostly by much smaller groups. Choir size is a hot matter of debate right now, and there is some justification for ensembles with just one or two singers per part. But it doesn't make sense in this context. Several of the ensembles also have adult female singers, despite the booklet's explanation that that was the one prohibited class during this time period. The sequence of the program, starting with Palestrina and moving forward to Carissimi and back as far as Dufay, seems close to...
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