Recordings of Renaissance liturgical music have historically been of two types. The vast majority treat the music from the modern standpoint of venerating the "work," putting, for instance, all the movements of the Catholic mass Ordinary together in an unbroken sequence even though they would not have been used that way originally. A smaller group attempts to reconstruct liturgies as they would have occurred in their own times. This beautiful disc of music by Tomás Luís de Victoria steers a middle course between these ...
Read More
Recordings of Renaissance liturgical music have historically been of two types. The vast majority treat the music from the modern standpoint of venerating the "work," putting, for instance, all the movements of the Catholic mass Ordinary together in an unbroken sequence even though they would not have been used that way originally. A smaller group attempts to reconstruct liturgies as they would have occurred in their own times. This beautiful disc of music by Tomás Luís de Victoria steers a middle course between these extremes: a solution that makes a good deal of sense in this instance. The a cappella music here was written for the Vespers service, mostly, as the cover indicates, for the Marian Feast of the Annunciation. It hangs together in its generally imposing style, for the Annunciation was one of the major events of the liturgical year. But the disc does not reproduce a specific set of liturgical compositions. The Exon Singers and director Matthew Owen instead select relevant works that make...
Read Less
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.