Palestrina: Masses & Motets

On this CD:

1. Laetamini in Domino, offertory for 5 voices (from Complete Offertories)
Composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Conducted by Stephen Darlington

2. Missa Ecco ego Joannes, for 6 voices
Composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Conducted by Stephen Darlington

3. Justorum animae, offertory for 5 voices (from Complete Offertories)
Composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Conducted by Stephen Darlington

4. Missa Pater noster, for 4 voices
Composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Conducted by Stephen Darlington

5. Pater noster, motet for 8 voices
Composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Conducted by Stephen Darlington

Tracks:

Plainchant Benedicta es
Benedicta es (Josquin des Pres)
Missa Benedicta es: Kyrie (Giovanni de Palestrina)
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus & Benedictus
Agnus Dei I & II
Missa Nasce la gioja mia : Kyrie (Palestrina)
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus & Benedictus
Agnus Dei I & II

Customer Reviews:

You can't go wrong with Palestrina.......2007-06-14

This is an exquisite recording of 2 of Palestrina's many masses, performed by The Tallis Scholars and conducted by Peter Phillips. They beautifully master the pure, clear tone required by 16-century compositions. This recording is an excellent addition to the collection of any classical music lover.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (4 March 1525 - 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of Renaissance music. He was the most famous sixteenth-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition. Palestrina had a vast influence on the development of Roman Catholic church music, and his work can be seen as a summation of Renaissance polyphony.

Palestrina left hundreds of compositions, including 104 masses, 68 offertories, more than 300 motets, at least 72 hymns, 35 magnificats, 11 litanies, 4 or 5 sets of lamentations etc., at least 140 madrigals and 9 organ ricercari (however, recent scholarship has classed these ricercari as of doubtful authorship; Palestrina probably wrote no purely instrumental music). His Missa sine nomine seems to have been particularly attractive to Johann Sebastian Bach, who studied and performed it while he was writing his own masterpiece, the Mass in B Minor. His compositions are typified as very clear, with voice parts well-balanced and beautifully harmonized.

Palestrina at his best.......2006-07-25

Beautiful and tranquil music; the composer is second to none for this mood enhancing experience. Worth listening to when you need to chill out...

Palestrina Masses: Missa Assumpta est Maria / Missa Sicut lilium

Average customer rating:

Superb Renaissance Masses
A little piece of heaven here on earth
Award-winning Tallis Scholars!
In the Palestrina discography's top percentile
The best recording of a Renaissance mass

Palestrina Masses: Missa Assumpta est Maria / Missa Sicut lilium

Manufacturer: Gimell UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Chants | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
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Palestrina: Missa Nigra sum

ASIN: B00005ATD8
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Customer Reviews:

Superb Renaissance Masses.......2006-10-27

'MIssa Assumpta est Maria and Missa Sicut Lilium' are two Palestrina masses whose style stands astride the Medieval 'Old Music' and the Baroque of Bach. While it is not as grand or rich as Bach, it is more congenial than the rather icy feel of the pre-Renaissance polyphony. Like Poulenc's masses from 400 years later, it almost seems like a modestly endowed choir could manage these. The pity is that one would have a really hard time teaching them to an amateur choir, let alone the difficulty in squeezing them into the rather dry and traditional Protestant services, even the Lutheran ones which celebrate the use of music inherited from Martin Luther's love of hymns.

When I recently revisited another Tallis Scholars recording, I suspected my appreciation for the Palistrena may have been due to the 'Scholars' skill. Listening to this recording and others done by, for example, The Sixteen Harry Christophers reassures me that my appreciation is due primarily to Palistrina shining through the centuries.

A little piece of heaven here on earth.......2005-09-21

This particular Mass setting in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary shows not only Palestrina's genius but also why he is considered by some to be the savior of sacred polyphonic music. This stirring production by the Tallis Scholars not only delights the ear, but also the soul with voices that border on the etheral. A must have for fans of traditional liturgical music!

Award-winning Tallis Scholars!.......2004-07-08

--Plainchant--
Plainchant is basically another word for chant of Gregorian or other styles, being monophonic and in free rhythm. The particular piece here, Assumpta est Maria in caelum, is a series of four verses. The first track on this CD presents the plainchant version without embellishment; perhaps as one would have originally heard it in a medieval monastery.

--Motets and Masses--
The first motet and mass presented here is Missa Assumpta est Maria in caelum. Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary have always been popular, and this is one of the most-performed pieces by Palestrina, and has been from its composition, although it was not published in Palestrina's lifetime. It is, according to Phillips, a `positive, outward-going, major-key' piece that is one of the most significant compositions of the period.

By contrast, Missa Sicut lilium inter spinas is relatively unknown, little published and little performed. Phillips had very little guide to follow in performing this piece, so this work by the Tallis Scholars is a true original. The motet for Sicut lilium was published in Palestrina's First Book of Motets (ironically, Assumpta est Maria in caelum was not, but is better known); Missa Sicut lilium inter spinas was published in a late book of Palestrina, but is believed to be an early work. It is believed that great composer Orlandus Lassus sometimes performed this mass and motet.

--Liner Notes--
Being internationally acclaimed, the Tallis Scholars' CDs typically present their commentary and texts in English, French, German and Italian (together with any Latin texts); that is true of this disc. The cover art also typically represents visual arts contemporary with the compositions - here it is `Madonna and Child with eight Angels', a piece by Botticelli, who was a rough contemporary of Palestrina. One drawback is that there is little information on the Tallis Scholars or Peter Phillips in the booklet.

--The Tallis Scholars-
The Tallis Scholars, a favourite group of mine since the first time I heard them decades ago, are a group dedicated to the performance and preservation of the best of this type of music. A choral group of exceptional ability, I have been privileged to see them many times in public, and at almost every performance, their singing seems almost like a spiritual epiphany for me, one that defies explanation in words. Directed by Peter Phillips, the group consists of a small number of male and female singers who have trained themselves well to their task.

Their recordings are of a consistent quality that deserve more than five stars; this particular disc of pieces by Palestrina and the plainchant deserves a place of honour in the collection of anyone who loves choral music, liturgical music or Gregorian chant, classical music generally, or religious music. It is astonishing music, one of many Palestrina pieces the Tallis Scholars have recorded. It was recorded in 1989.

In the Palestrina discography's top percentile.......2004-05-17

Not only does this superbly engineered issue belong in the Palestrina discography's top percentile, it shows how greatly the composer's earlier idiom differed from that of his later - and better-known - pieces. SICUT LILIUM is dark, obviously elaborate, and written as a rather selfconscious homage to the Flemish polyphonic tradition. By the time Palestrina produced his renowned ASSUMPTA EST MARIA Mass setting, all need to match himself against Flanders's contrapuntal trellis-work had gone; the music, unfailingly radiant, sounds divinely effortless. The same can be said of Peter Philips's choristers: whose superb tonal blend and equally impressive across-the-barline phrasing, far from being studio artefacts, are just as splendid in their live performances. Absurd though it would be to purchase only one Palestrina recording, be assured: this repertoire has never been done better on CD than it is here.

The best recording of a Renaissance mass.......2002-08-16

In my opinion, this is the best recording of a Renaissance mass. The quality of the recording is wonderful, and the singing is also excellent. It is not completely authentic, however, because the Tallis Scholars do use female singers to replace the boys that would have sung this originally.
If you are new to this type of music, I suggest you try this cd. Usually people who listen to a Renaissance mass for the first time think the music is beautiful and are intrigued to have discovered a new musical genre. This type of music does sound something like a Gregorian chant, but it is more complex. It has some of the same trance-like quality, but I believe the mass is more interesting.

Average customer rating:

Renaissance Masterpieces (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Magnificats | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Brumel: Missa 'Et ecce terrae motus'; Sequentia 'Dies irae' /Huelgas Ensemble * P van Nevel
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Palestrina: Masses (Box Set)
Telemann String Concertos Musica Antiqua Koln Goebel
Jesus of Nazareth

ASIN: B000092Q5W
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Average customer rating:

Joy is born

Palestrina Masses: Missa Brevis

Manufacturer: Gimell UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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O Magnum Mysterium: Sacred Music of Palestrina
Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli, Missa Aeterna

ASIN: B00005ATCW
Release Date: 2002-07-09

Tracks:

Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Santus & Benedictus
Agnus Dei I & II
Nasce La Gioja Mia
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus & Benedictus
Agnus Dei I & II

Customer Reviews:

Joy is born.......2004-06-10

--Palestrina: Missa Brevis--
Despite the implication of the name, Palestrina's Missa Brevis is a very substantial mass, written in four parts. The mystery of the name remains, as there are no plainsong chants or motets that are natural parody sources for this mass, unusual for the time. The music is SATB, increasing over the course to SSATB for the final Agnus Dei.

The other mass presented here by Palestrina, Missa Nasce la goija mia, is one that has a secular source in parody. The original piece by Primavera (1540 - 1585) is included here prior to the mass; he wrote popular melodies for madrigals and others. The tune was worthy, and Palestrina's treatment of it shows great care and expansion toward the liturgical needs and choir capabilities. This is a very full piece, scored for SSATTB.

All of these pieces are wonderfully performed, and taken as a set, they make a wonderful snapshot of Roman Catholic/high Anglican sensibility from the time of religious upheaval due to the Reformation. They also serve to show a wonderful history of development from the simple to the complex, and the virtues of the music at each stage.

--Liner Notes--
Being internationally acclaimed, the Tallis Scholars' CDs typically present their commentary and texts in English, French, German and Italian (also a translation here for the lyric Nasce la gioia mia - My joy is born); that is true of this disc, which unfortunately does not contain the text of the mass. The cover art also typically represents visual arts contemporary with the compositions - here it is a piece by Botticelli, who was a rough historical contemporary of Palestrina (only a few generations separate them). One drawback is that there is little information on the Tallis Scholars or Peter Phillips in the booklet.

--The Tallis Scholars--
The Tallis Scholars, a favourite group of mine since the first time I heard them decades ago, are a group dedicated to the performance and preservation of the best of this type of music. A choral group of exceptional ability, I have been privileged to see them many times in public, and at almost every performance, their singing seems almost like a spiritual epiphany for me, one that defies explanation in words. Directed by Peter Phillips, the group consists of a small number of male and female singers who have trained themselves well to their task.

Tracks:

Motet: Peccantem me quotidie (4:28)
Missa sine nomine (for 6 voices) kyrie (2: 24)
Gloria (3: 36)
Credo (5: 08)
Sanctus (4: 24)
Agnus Dei I (2: 36)
Agnus Dei II (2: 50)
Motet: Sicut cervus (5:50)
Missa L'homme arme (for 4 voices) Kyrie (2: 38)
Gloria ( 4: 20)
Credo (7: 22)
Sanctus (3: 42)
(Agnus Dei I (1: 52)
Agnus Dei II (2: 16)
Motet: Super flumina Babylonis (3:26)

Average customer rating:

a voice teacher and early music fan
Pure Natural Musical Expression
A remarkable bargain

Palestrina: Masses (Box Set)
Pro Cantione Antiqua
Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Chants | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
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Josquin Desprez: Motets & Chansons
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Lassus: Masses for Five Voices; Infelix ego
Schumann: Complete Chamber Music [Box Set]

ASIN: B00005TS0T
Release Date: 2001-11-13

Customer Reviews:

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2006-04-30

This 5 disc set is a treasure trove of some of the lovliest music of Palestrina that you will ever hear in one Box Set!! CD 1: Missa L'Homme Arme - Missa Assumpta Est Maria.CD2: Lamentations fo Jeremiah the Prophet. CD3: Missa Brevis-Missa Lauda Sion-Super Flumina Babylonis-Sicut Cervus.CD4: Missa Aeterna Christi Munera-Missa L'Homme Arme,4vv. CD5: Missa Papae Marcelli.From the moment when, at the age of 11, Palestrina became a choir boy at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, until he dies, the church was a permanent backdrop for the drama of his life-now it was the Sistine Chapel,now a simple country place of worship,but always a house of God. A combination of piety and business ability was marked in Palestrina throughout his life; there was nothing of the dreamy,impractical artist about him despite his idealism. He composed peacefully for Mother Church until his death;and engraved on his tombstone is the title "Princeps Musicae" -Prince of Music. It is interesting to note that Palestrina wrote in the dedication of his "First Book of Motets" what he considered to be the function of music in the Church: "The function of music in the Church is the seasoning of devotion by the added delight of sweetness of song and variety of harmony." Thus he describes for us all how we should perceive his music. Therefore, the qualities are: purity, clarity,comparative brevity and simplicity, polyphony used with judicious reserve and the banishing of secular elements from his music. These 5 discs all speak to the above description. The Pro Cantione Antiqua with its all male voices portray in a most excellent and skillful manner exactly what Palestrina would have desired. AND YES I would definately consider them to be collectors'items.

Pure Natural Musical Expression.......2005-10-16

Palestrina is a composer who lives on in the minds of the general music-loving public, primarily through church services and community choral concerts, and of course, recordings by premiere touring star vocal ensembles. Usually, when we hear something of this composer live, it's as part of a larger mixed program, along with many other composers who wrote for this kind of setting.

So sometimes, poor Palestrina gets a bit lost in the mix, as one more Renaissance composer who specialized in vocal counterpoint, and wrote some lovely music for a Sunday afternoon service. That's easy to have happen, since that particular era was rife with brilliant choral music to go with such an occassion, and by so many great masters (Byrd, Lassus, Tallis, etc.). So what makes this guy so special within that kind of company?

To answer this, I would first paraphrase a writer I once came across (the name of whom, sadly, I cannot remember) who seemed to really put his finger on what Palestrina's style of vocal writing was about. He said, in effect: This particular composer was really reviving a form of sacred vocal music that was already quite old when he came along. That music was Gregorian Chant. While his brilliant and innovative contemporaries were composing vocal works of great harmonic and rhythmic complexity, and embracing so many of the colorful compositional techniques of the newer secular/instrumental movements going on at the time, Palestrina kept to a more singular type of vision. He took the basic style of Gregorian chant in all its simplicity of expression, and economy of means, and found a way to 'polyphonize' it without disturbing those very elements that made it work so well as a form of "unison" singing for so many centuries.

After I read this very interesting and seemingly insightful commentary, I pulled out my copy of the Pro Cantione Antiqua singing Palestrina's "Missa Aeterna Christa Numera", and gave it another listen. From the the opening lines of the Kyrie, I immediately got the same impression that the writer was trying to convey, and that was of a kind of unfettered purity, simplicity, and emotional directness that is unique to Gregorian Chant. In fact, the whole thing sounded to me like several monks starting their chants at different times, and singing in different registers, and making the whole thing sound almost IMPROVISED! Some of the more angular archaic church modes are done away with here, and the melodic and harmonic movement has a much more 'contemporary' ring to it, right down to the IV-V-I cadences, and liberal use of major 3rds, but the overall sense and 'flavour' of early European chant is completely intact, and comes through with real authenticity in these wonderful performances.

That improvisational sense I spoke of informs the sounds heard on this recording, and definitely gives me the feeling of a music so direct and 'unstylized', that I would almost hesitate to even catigorize it as a "Classical Album". It belongs with the chants and liturgical musics that predate any contemporary notions of style, and as such, could take its place beside any beautifully sung devotional music from any place or time.

A remarkable bargain .......2005-08-01

Recordings by the pioneering Pro Cantione Antiqua are increasingly becoming collector's items for the cognoscenti. These performances of Palestrina Masses form a superb set of reference recordings of this seminal composer of the Seconda Prattica - if I may use Monteverdi's term. They have a place in the library of anyone with a serious interest in 16th century Renaissance music.

As an early music all male choir the Pro Cantione Antiqua very often remain unsurpassed in the excellence of their interpretation of Renaissance polyphony. At times they even put the Tallis Scholars quite in the shade. The Missa Papae Marcello here is perhaps as good a performance I have yet to hear, and is definitely my reference recording. The blend and balance of voices and above all their phrasing seem perfectly suited to the exquisite refinement characteristic of the 'Palestrina style'.

The works found on this 5 CD set are:

Missa Assumpta Est Maria
Missa Papae Marcelli
Miss Aeterna Christa Munera
Missa L'homme Armé (4 vocum)
Missa Brevis
Missa 'Lauda Sion'
Super Flumina Babylonis
Sicut Cervus
Lamentations of Jeremiah, Book IV

In due course I imagine that some of their recordings will emerge from the original record labels that made them, but that may take years. In the meantime small independent releases such as this of archive recordings are highly welcome. Regis seems to be another label issuing old Pro Cantione Antiqua recordings, so even if this issue from Brilliant becomes unavailable there is an alternative.

The sound quality here is also excellent and as acquiring the set doubled up on the recording of the Missa Papae Marcello, I can say that these transfers represent a substantial improvement on an old 1987 issue I have owned for many years. The soundstaging is wider, and the focus much cleaner, with successful removal of the gritty glassiness of many late first generation 1980's digital issues. Recording dates have unfortunately been omitted but I believe all of these recordings were recorded in the late 1980's and indeed all them are fully digital. I do know for certain that the Missa Papae Marcello here was recorded between January 31 to Feburary 1st, 1987 at St Alban's Church, London.

The only drawback on these issues is that liner notes are absent - except for the sung text of works - so you might want to find a good book on Palestrina's music to help fill in details to the background behind the compositions. I find really decent liner notes are a rarity in any case and so getting more in depth discussion elsewhere is always preferable.

All in all this is a remarkable bargain that anyone in-the-know about these recordings will snap up. If the Pro Cantione Antiqua are new to you and you have an interest in Palestrina then you are in for a quite a treat.

Average customer rating:

Palestrina:Masses

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics/Koch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000A28EPG
Release Date: 2001-11-27

Average customer rating:

Painfully Unfortunate
Tasteful and Beautiful Choral Music
well, at least it was only $4

Desprez-Palestrina Motets/Masses

Manufacturer: Ent. Media Partners
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B000002XB1
Release Date: 1997-10-23

Tracks:

Motetten: In principio erat verbum
Motetten: Benedicta es coelorum Regina
Missa Brevis: Kyrie
Missa Brevis: Gloria
Missa Brevis: Credo
Missa Brevis: Sanctus
Missa Brevis: Benedictus
Missa Brevis: Agnus Dei I
Missa Brevis: Agnus Dei II
Missa 'Tu es Petrus': Kyrie
Missa 'Tu es Petrus': Gloria
Missa 'Tu es Petrus': Credo
Missa 'Tu es Petrus': Sanctus
Missa 'Tu es Petrus': Benedictus
Missa 'Tu es Petrus': Agnus Dei

Customer Reviews:

Painfully Unfortunate.......2007-07-02

This disc offers worse-than-undistinguished rendition of two Josquin motets, and adequate renderings of two Palestrina masses.

The Josquin motets are just plain poorly done, by a choir that is clearly not up to the task. THe works are also poorly recorded. For some reason, they have added brass doubling on the parts. I've not heard much doubling of this kind in polyphony of this period, and this recording tells me why. It is very intrusive,at least as rendered by the Collegium Musicum Aldovadensis. A prior reviewer's comment on the "Puccini-esque" nature of the tenor section is quite appropriate. Somehow, having a chorus of Pavarotti wannabes singing Josquin doesn't work too well.

The Palestrina masses are significantly better. The Austrian Radio Choir is a much more competent ensemble than the previous group -- but there are just too many singers for them to render works of this period well. The second mass also features some unnecessary and obtrusive brass doubling, although it's not as poorly done in this instance as it was for the Josquin.

This recording is not worth the time it takes to listen to it. While the Palestrina is acceptable, the Josquin is just plain painful. If you're looking for bargain polyphony, the Naxos label has some excellent performances of this repertoire at a comparative price. Don't bother with this one.

Tasteful and Beautiful Choral Music.......2004-01-31

I've been listening to this CD for a number of days now, and I have to say that I think it is one of my favorite CD's in my collection. The pieces are very tastefully written, kind of reminds me of Christmas Chorals. Frankly, I can't understand how anyone could complain about it. For the money it is a great value.

well, at least it was only $4.......2003-09-10

I bought this disk as it was an Amazon recommendation after purchasing another disk.

Tracks:

Miserere A 9 (Ed. Guest)
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Veni Sponsa Christi
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Benedictus
Agnus Dei I.
Agnus Dei II.

Palestrina Masses: Missa Brevis; Missa Nasce la gioja mia

Average customer rating:

Palestrina Masses: Missa Brevis; Missa Nasce la gioja mia
Joy is born

Palestrina Masses: Missa Brevis; Missa Nasce la gioja mia

Manufacturer: Gimell
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001I4O
Release Date: 1993-09-01

Tracks:

Missa Brevis: Kyrie
Missa Brevis: Gloria
Missa Brevis: Credo
Missa Brevis: Sanctus And Benedictus
Missa Brevis: Agnus Dei I And II
Madrigal: Nasce la gioja mia
Missa Basce la gioja mia: Kyrie
Missa Nasce la gioja mia: Gloria
Missa Nasce la gioja mia: Credo
Missa Nasce la gioja mia: Sanctus And Bendeitcus
Missa Nasce la gioja mia: Agnus Dei I And II

Amazon.com

The Missa Nasce la gioia mia (based on a madrigal by Italian Renaissance composer G.L. Primavera) and the Missa brevis are among Palestrina's simplest, most accessible Masses--some might find them a bit lightweight, but they are undeniably pretty. The Tallis Scholars give an impeccable performance, especially in the Missa brevis, which features a captivating Benedictus for three voices. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Palestrina Masses: Missa Brevis; Missa Nasce la gioja mia.......2006-08-24

Palestrina Masses: Missa Brevis; Missa Nasce la gioja mia~ Peter Phillips is a wonderful recording and verily one could call Palestrina one if not the best composer for the Catholic Church. The painting on the front is a grand picture of a young woman and the liner notes are well written. Palestrina is such a skilled writer of choral music and one of best writers and composers of this genre of all time. Highly recommended.

Joy is born.......2006-01-18

--Palestrina--
Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina is sometimes called the greatest composer of the Roman Catholic church. Born in 1525 near Rome, he spent the better part of his career in service to the church as a choir member, choir master, conductor, composer and school master. He was sought after by many churches, and sometimes his popularity and skill got him into trouble both with his clerical patrons and with fellow musicians. He was offered prestigious positions in Rome and Vienna which were ultimately withdrawn because Palestrina's salary and conditions requirements were too high. He had some influence on the Council of Trent's musical decisions for reform of the Catholic worship practices, and was involved intimately with revising the Gradual and produced a harmonised version of the Latin Hymnal in 1589. He died in 1594.

--Palestrina: Missa Brevis--
Despite the implication of the name, Palestrina's Missa Brevis is a very substantial mass, written in four parts. The mystery of the name remains, as there are no plainsong chants or motets that are natural parody sources for this mass, unusual for the time. The music is SATB, increasing over the course to SSATB for the final Agnus Dei.

The other mass presented here by Palestrina, Missa Nasce la goija mia, is one that has a secular source in parody. The original piece by Primavera (1540 - 1585) is included here prior to the mass; he wrote popular melodies for madrigals and others. The tune was worthy, and Palestrina's treatment of it shows great care and expansion toward the liturgical needs and choir capabilities. This is a very full piece, scored for SSATTB.

All of these pieces are wonderfully performed, and taken as a set, they make a wonderful snapshot of Roman Catholic/high Anglican sensibility from the time of religious upheaval due to the Reformation. They also serve to show a wonderful history of development from the simple to the complex, and the virtues of the music at each stage.

--Liner Notes--
Being internationally acclaimed, the Tallis Scholars' CDs typically present their commentary and texts in English, French, German and Italian (also a translation here for the lyric Nasce la gioia mia - My joy is born); that is true of this disc, which unfortunately does not contain the text of the mass. The cover art also typically represents visual arts contemporary with the compositions - here it is a piece by Botticelli, who was a rough historical contemporary of Palestrina (only a few generations separate them). One drawback is that there is little information on the Tallis Scholars or Peter Phillips in the booklet.

--The Tallis Scholars--
The Tallis Scholars, a favourite group of mine since the first time I heard them decades ago, are a group dedicated to the performance and preservation of the best of this type of music. A choral group of exceptional ability, I have been privileged to see them many times in public, and at almost every performance, their singing seems almost like a spiritual epiphany for me, one that defies explanation in words. Directed by Peter Phillips, the group consists of a small number of male and female singers who have trained themselves well to their task.

Their recordings are of a consistent quality that deserve more than five stars; this particular disc of pieces by Palestrina and Primavera deserves a place of honour in the collection of anyone who loves choral music, liturgical music or Gregorian chant, classical music generally, or religious music. It is astonishing one of the earlier recordings of the Tallis Scholars (originally recorded in 1986) of Palestrina, one of their favourite subjects.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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