King's College Choir - Palestrina: Masses and Motets
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Artist: King's College ChoirComposer: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Conductor: Sir Philip Ledger
Conductor: Sir David Wilcocks
Edition: Music CD
Audio: Italian (Unknown); German (Published)
CD Release Date: 2008-11-11
Music Label: EMI Classics
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Kyrie:- Missa Ave Maria a6
- Gloria:- Missa Ave Maria a6
- Credo:- Missa Ave Maria a6
- Ave Maria:- Missa Ave Maria a6
- Sanctus:- Missa Ave Maria a6
- Benedictus:- Missa Ave Maria a6
- Agnus Dei I:- Missa Ave Maria a6
- Agnus Dei II:- Missa Ave Maria a6
- Kyrie:- Missa Hodie Christus natus est
- Gloria:- Missa Hodie Christus natus est
- Credo:- Missa Hodie Christus natus est
- Sanctus:- Missa Hodie Christus natus est
- Benedictus:- Missa Hodie Christus natus est
- Agnus Dei:- Missa Hodie Christus natus est
- Motet: Hodie Christus natus est
- . Motet: Canite tuba
- Motet: Ave Maria
- Motet: Tui sunt caeli
- Motet: Jubilate Deo
- Motet: O magnum mysterium
- Kyrie:- Missa Papae Marcelli
- Gloria:- Missa Papae Marcelli
- Credo:- Missa Papae Marcelli
- Santus:- Missa Papae Marcelli
- Benedictus:- Missa Papae Marcelli
- Agnus Dei I:- Missa Papae Marcelli
- Agnus Dei II:- Missa Papae Marcelli
- Kyrie:- Missa Brevis
- Gloria:- Missa Brevis
- Credo:- Missa Brevis
- Sanctus:- Missa Brevis
- Benedictus:- Missa Brevis
- Agnus Dei I:- Missa Brevis
- Agnus Dei II:- Missa Brevis
Free Music Notes for Palestrina: Masses and Motets
Free Music Review: a voice teacher and early music fan
Hit: 5 Stars
TIMELESS AND ENDURING MUSIC OF PALESTRINA PERFORMED WITH PERFECTION BY THE KING'S COLLEGE CHOIR.
The reputation of Giovanno Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) was greatly enhanced by the high proportion of his works published during his lifetime: six books of masses and 250-odd motets. The recordings on this album reflect both the eloquent simplicity of his work and the fervent strength of his faith.
From the age of 11, when Palestrina became a choir boy in Rome, until he died, the church was a permanent backdrop for the drama of his life. In the dedication of his 'First Book of Motets' in 1563, he wrote: " The Function of music in the church is the seasoning of devotion by the added delight of sweetness of song and variety of harmony. The sharper blame therefore do those deserve who misemploy so great and splendid a gift of God in light or unworthy thing...."
Therefore, in all the long list of masses, madrigals and motets, there is not one that is cheap or unworthy. Purity and clarity, comparative brevity and simplicity, polyphony used with judicious reserve, the banishing of secular elements from his music are the qualities certainly well demonstrated in the collection on these two CD's.
The recordings brought together on this album reflect both the eloquent simplicity of Palestrina's work as well as the fervent strength of his faith. 'Missa Hodie Christus natus est' is a glorous sounding Mass scored for double choir written for performance on Christmas Day. The clear setting of sacred word and careful balance of voice was already present in an earlier work, the 'Missa Brevis', published in 1750. It continued to shine in such refined late pieces as the 'Missa Ave Maria', which appeared in print two years after his death.
This recording involves three different recording dates, the first one in 1970 performing 'Missa Papae Marcelli' and 'Missa Brevis' under the direction of Sir David Willcocks. The second date 1977 includes 'Missa Hodie Christus Natus est', 'Hodie Christus natus est', 'Canite tuba', 'Ave Maria', 'Tul sunt caeli' and 'O Magnum Mysterium' (Sir Philip Ledger. This 1977 portion has been previously released on a recording entitled: 'Missa Hodie Christus Natus Est and Six Motets' which is available on the Marketplace. It does not include the 1979 session of the 'Missa Ave Maria'. The third date 1979 is 'Missa Ave Maria' also conducted by Ledger. What a great compilation of Palestrina's wonderful music!!!
As to the performance of the King's College Choir: perfection with clear voiced boy sopranos, velvet toned male altos, tuneful tenor, resonant basses all singing with flawless diction and that extra something that all the King's College choirs have. A most enjoyable listening experience.
Palestrina: Masses and Motets Poster
The Gemini Series features an impressive roster of singers, conductors, soloists, and ensembles of international renown, all from the incomparable EMI Classics stable. EMI's rich legacy of recording expertise comes to the fore in performances from the 1960s to the 1990s. Gemini titles are predominantly collections of single composers and fantastic value with well over an hour of music on each CD, making them the ideal place to start or develop a collection of classical music. Each 2-CD set contains over two hours of music for a fantastically low price. Attractively designed and packaged in space-saving brilliant boxes, each set includes three-language booklets with detailed notes on the music.This release of 10 new Gemini titles will bring the total number of titles in the series to 175. As with previous Gemini releases, this installment includes many recordings new to CD and as well as recordings that have been transferred from Double Forte. Among the excellent releases in this new set are performances by Plácido Domingo, Natalie Dessay, Deborah Voigt, Janet Baker, Jean-Philippe Collard, Simon Rattle, Michel Plasson, Claudio Abbado, and others! These titles have been digitally remastered to the highest standards at the world famous Abbey Road Studios.
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