On offer here are two masses by Tomás Luis de Victoria, neither frequently recorded and both fine examples of the Renaissance mass and its various procedures. Both date from the 1570s and 1580s, the golden age of the restrained and smoothly crafted sound of the Counter Reformation. The Choir of Westminster Cathedral, with its complement of boys and men, is of the right makeup for this music, although perhaps a bit large at the pictured size of 30 singers. Conductor Martin Baker defines the lines of the music clearly, ...
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On offer here are two masses by Tomás Luis de Victoria, neither frequently recorded and both fine examples of the Renaissance mass and its various procedures. Both date from the 1570s and 1580s, the golden age of the restrained and smoothly crafted sound of the Counter Reformation. The Choir of Westminster Cathedral, with its complement of boys and men, is of the right makeup for this music, although perhaps a bit large at the pictured size of 30 singers. Conductor Martin Baker defines the lines of the music clearly, bringing out the derivation of Victoria's Missa de Beata Virgine from a recurring plainchant motto and of the Missa Surge propera from a motet by Palestrina, also supplied. This choir has a bit more texture in the lines than is heard in the typical English cathedral sound, and the polyphonic textures are precise. The choristers don't, however, give the dark, burnished sound often associated with Victoria, and whether it makes it to the front of the Renaissance playpile depends on how...
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Add this copy of Missa De Beata Maria Virgine & Missa Surge Propera to cart. $33.47, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2011 by HYPERION RECORDS: CDA67891.