Search - Magdala :: A Gift for a King

Sacred music from the Florence of Leonardo, recorded in a church on a Florentine hill close to Michelangelo's fortifications, not far from the famous cathedral and its baptistery where this music was performed in the sixteenth century. A rich choral sound, great music and an atmospheric recording by Oxford's finest mixed-voice choir. England's great musical heritage has its roots in the reign of the most famous of Tudor monarchs - Henry VIII. Yet, many are surprised to find that, of the thousands of musical manuscripts that must have circulated during that culturally rich time, only a handful have come down to us intact. The great choir-books now at Eton, Caius College in Cambridge, and Lambeth Palace (the latter two products of Arundel College in Sussex) are among our main sources for this period, and, today, much of that music has been performed and recorded by modern choirs. However, the musical tap does not dry up here. Cultural exchange in the early sixteenth century included not only literature and paintings, but the most passionate of all the arts: Music. Magdala directed by David Skinner Recorded in the church of the monastery of San Salvatore al Monte, Florence, July 2006 by kind permission of the Abbot Special thanks to Andrea Cavallari, Luisa Donati and Angus Ritchie for their assistance in making this recording possible Producer Ben Turner. Executive producer Martin Souter