Christmas has come a little early this year, with a superb performance
of Morales’ Mass based on Mouton’s nativity motet Queramus
cum pastoribus – “Let us seek Him with the shepherds, the
incarnate Word ... Noël, Noël”, a very popular piece in the Sixteenth
Century, which is performed immediately before the mass. The appeal
of this recording is enhanced by the fact that the motet and mass
are preceded on the CD by five attractive shorter pieces.
I won’t bother you with a repetition of what Bob
Briggs has said (review);
I merely reinforce his recommendation by making this CD my Bargain
of the Month. Don’t bother to wait for Christmas to obtain it.
Performances and recording are just about ideal.
Morales’ music may seem to lack some of the intense
passion of his Spanish contemporaries – even the music which
he composed before he travelled to Rome often sounds less insular than that of Victoria and his other contemporaries
– but that serves only to make it capable of being more widely
appreciated. Reviewing the Brabant Ensemble’s recent premiere
recording of Morales’ Magnificat primi toni on Hyperion
(CDA57694 – see review),
I referred to the understated magnificence of that work, a description
which applies equally well to the music here.
I gave that Brabant Ensemble CD a strong recommendation,
tempered only by the observation that Hyperion also had some
excellent recordings of 16th-century music in their
budget-price Helios catalogue. I specifically mentioned this
Morales reissue and another Westminster Cathedral reissue, of
the music of Morales’ student Guerrero, which I recently recommended
(Missa Sancta et immaculata, CDH55313 – see review).
The purse-proud will be pleased to note that it’s
possible to buy both these Helios recordings and still have
some change left over from the cost of the full-price CD. Others
less troubled by the current financial woes are strongly advised
to go for all three. And don’t forget the Chandos recording
of the music of Morales and his contemporaries by Northern Voices
which I recommended in the review of the Brabant Ensemble’s
Morales: hybrid SACD CHSA5050, let down only by a very short
recording time.
The Westminster Cathedral style is different from
that of the Brabant Ensemble, with rather more measured tempi;
both are excellent within their own terms. I’m not fully persuaded
by the argument that the Westminster choristers sing polyphonic
music in a style more accordant with 16th-century
continental practice, but they certainly make the best possible
case for the music of Morales here.
The booklet advertises four other Westminster Cathedral
reissues on the Helios label, three of which I own in their
original or reissued formats and all of which I can recommend
– Anerio’s Requiem (CDH55213), Lassus’ Missa Bell’Amfitrit’Altera
(CDH55212) and Masterpieces of Portuguese Polyphony (CDH55229).
The only reason why I don’t have the fourth, Britten’s A
Boy was born and Rejoice in the Lamb (CDH55307) is
the fact that these particular Britten works have never fired
me with enthusiasm in the way that his other Christmas music,
A Ceremony of Carols, has. Together with the Guerrero
CD, which I have already mentioned, all these Westminster recordings may be strongly
recommended.
My review copy came minus its rear insert but a
visit to Hyperion’s website soon put matters right – like Chandos,
Hyperion now offer the booklets and inserts for their CDs, presumably
for the benefit of those who download them from iTunes. That reminds
me to repeat my advice that, while full-price Hyperion recordings
are good value as iTunes downloads, especially more recent recordings
in the iTunes plus format, you shouldn’t even think about downloading
Helios issues for the same price, when the CD can be obtained
for less.
Brian
Wilson
see
also Review
by Bob Briggs
