It can be very difficult to find a thread that holds
together an anthology of renaissance music. Performers often record
collections of music by a single composer; they sometimes make recordings
based around themes, such as food, animals or specific locations. Other
times, they create recordings focusing on a specific time, such as this
one.
It can be interesting to hear music from a limited
time period, to discover the relations between different composers.
This disc, the first release on the new label Coro, founded by The Sixteen
and its leader Harry Christophers, focuses on what Christophers calls
"an extraordinary turning point in history and the musical fruit
it bore…" The summer of 1553, which saw the preparation for the
return of England to Catholicism, reversing the changes of the Reformation.
This was the time when Mary Tudor wed the heir to the Spanish throne,
Prince Philip.
This disc, which is a collection of previously released
works from various recordings, includes vocal works by English and Spanish
composers of this time, showing the similarities and relationships between
their music. Included are works by such well-known English composers
as William Byrd, Thomas Tallis and John Sheppard, together with Spanish
composers, Francisco Guerrero, Tomas Luis de Victoria and Philippe de
Monte.
The works on this recording are all sacred, a cappella
vocal works, written in Latin. The general tone is one of meditation
and spirituality – this is not the more joyous, festive music of the
Renaissance. The lush vocal parts are sung with great subtlety by the
choir, which again affirms its qualities, showing that it is one of
the best for this type of repertoire. The textures are rich and many-layered;
whether in the slow, profound Agnus Dei from Tallis’ mass Puer Natus,
or the more haunting Super flumina Babylonis, by Victoria. The tone
colours are always vibrant and exciting, as in Sheppard’s Verbum caro,
which combines elements from Gregorian chant with later Renaissance
vocal techniques.
This wonderful disc bodes well for the future of this
new label. The Sixteen have always been one of the premier groups for
this type of music, and show on this disc their quality and energy.
This fine recording is refreshing and delightful, and will please any
lover of Renaissance vocal music.
Kirk McElhearn
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers