Search - Duarte Lobo, Manuel Cardoso, Jeremy Summerly :: Lôbo, Cardoso: Portugese Requiem Masses

Not bad, but lacks subtlety

Gordon Zaft | Chandler, AZ | 05/18/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD because my choir (the Lane Justus Chorale in Tucson, Arizona) was performing the Lobo "Missa Pro Defunctis". As you might know this is somewhat of an obscure piece.While the Schola Cantorum does an acceptable job of performing the piece (the notes are all there, there are no obvious mistakes, etc.) either the recording or the choir itself seem to lack a certain subtlety and sensitivity. These are Requiem Masses, after all, and there's a need for a certain tenderness in the approach; yet many times there's a brashness and a harsh edge to the tone that distracts. I should point out that these pieces are in 8 parts, but generally the difficulty of the piece lies not in the notes, but in bringing all the hidden interplay between lines to the surface.The CD insert doesn't contain the words either in the original Latin or translated. If you are familiar with the text of the Mass it shouldn't be an issue but it would have been nice to include.Since recordings of these pieces are hard to find I wouldn't discourage you from buying the CD. ..."