2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Tomás Luis de Victoria. This remarkable Spaniard epitomised the emotion and fervour of Renaissance Europe and is considered by many to be the most outstanding composer of his time.
The Sixteen’s new boxed set,
The Victoria Collection, contains four of The Sixteen’s celebrated Victoria recordings: The Call of the Beloved, Requiem of 1605, Mystery of the Cross, and Devotion to our Lady.
The Call of the Beloved includes some of the earliest triple-choir music ever to be published and is a reminder of Victoria's joyous and passionate music, complementing his more austere Requiem and music for Holy Week.
The celebrated
Requiem of 1605 is Victoria's final composition and a work of beguiling beauty and sumptuous simplicity – a true masterpiece. It can be seen as the summation of both his art and the Spanish Renaissance tradition. The beautiful plainsong on which it is structured can be heard arching through the texture, forming a delicate and sinuous line throughout. Subtly accompanied by a chamber organ and bajón, it is recorded here with the same forces as may well have performed it originally in the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales. The Requiem is preceded by Marian Antiphons interspersed with three motets setting texts from the Song of Songs
Devotion to our Lady showcases works for eight parts, some of them for two antiphonal choirs discreetly accompanied by organ and bajón, all displaying the magnificent fervent sonorities for which Victoria is renowned.
A beautifully packaged set, which complements perfectly the release of The Sixteen's newest recording by the composer -
Hail, Mother of the Redeemer, also features some of the composer's Lamentations for Holy Week. What could make a more appropriate Easter gift?
Order online here.
Following Liverpool and Blackburn last weekend, the Choral Pilgrimage proceeds to Cambridge and St Albans next weekend, with concerts in St John's College Chapel on Friday (sponsored by Cambridge University Press) and St Albans Abbey on Saturday. Some - but not many - tickets still available.
Our Choral Pilgrimage got off to a great start in Oxford and Norwich, with excellent reviews in The Times and the Guardian. Onwards now to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on Friday: tickets are just £15, available in advance from the Cathedral Gift Shop on 0151 707 3525 or at the door from 6.30pm on the night. And thence to Blackburn on Saturday.
When a list of the world's greatest choirs appeared in Gramophone magazine there was no shortage of controversy about who did, and did not, make the cut. On The Choir on BBC Radio 3 tonight at 6.45pm (and then available on iPlayer) Aled Jones picks his way through recordings by the top ten ensembles, and also takes a look at a rival list of no fewer than 1000 choirs. Plus, listeners share their own suggestions of groups who perhaps missed out. Hear a William Byrd track from CORO 16077 by The Sixteen, (and some other choirs...........!).
A good piece by Ivan Hewett in the Telegraph on Spem in Alium: 'Take a look at Classic FM’s Hall of Fame, and there among the poll of listeners’ favourite classical pieces you’ll find a surprise. Coming in at number 89, just ahead of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and only just behind Albinoni’s Adagio, is Thomas Tallis’s sacred vocal work Spem in Alium Nunquam Habui – “I have no other hope (than God)”.Why should an immensely complex piece in a dead language have struck such a chord? Part of the reason is the current vogue for spiritual music, which has sent CDs of chants by Spanish monks and The Priests soaring up the album charts. But there is something extraordinary about this particular piece. It’s like an ocean of sound, where individual voices are glimpsed for a few seconds before they vanish back into the mass.' Read the full article here.
