Search - Duarte Lobo, The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips :: Lôbo: Requiem for Six Voices; Missa Vox Clamantis

Stunning voices

FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 07/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"--Duarte Lobo--

Lobo (1565-1646) was a Portuguese Renaissance composer - the Renaissance influence was later in Portugal than in the central European nations; even Spain's Renaissance period was a bit earlier. Lobo was one of many composers of the time to study at Evora Cathedral, being highly esteemed in the court and church, holding a post at the cathedral in Lisbon for over forty years. Much of his music was destroyed in the terrible earthquake of 1755, so his image is somewhat fuzzy, biographically and musically. He was by most accounts the most widely performed Portuguese composer of his time.



--Requiem--

Lobo's eight-voice Requiem was published almost two decades prior to his six-voice Requiem (recorded on this disc). Lobo, no doubt influenced by Victoria (whose requiem has also been recorded by the Tallis Scholars) , nonetheless prefers a deeper sound, going with an SAATTB arrangement; he gives the chant to a single soprano, using long notes.



--Missa Vox clamantis--

This mass is also a six-voice piece, set higher with SSAATB. It is much more contrapuntal. The original motet upon which it is (most likely) based has not been found, perhaps a victim of the earthquake. There are some remarkable turns in this mass, but also some obvious baroque and traditional elements.



--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 'The Funeral of St. Bonaventure', by Francisco de Zurbaran, roughly contemporary with Lobo.



--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 masses by Lobo deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who loves choral music, liturgical music or Gregorian chant, classical music generally, or religious music. It is a great recording, magnificently performed. The music on this disc was originally recorded in 1992 (the location is not noted in the disc information). This recording was made in the memory of Christopher Selmes and Simon Anderson, supported by the Christopher Selmes Charitable Trust.



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