The Pope Marcellus Mass is the first Palestrina mass that most people encounter, but this delicious work makes a far better introduction to his music. The title theme on which the entire mass is based is simple and clear (... more »change "ut" to "do" and think of Julie Andrews); since that theme is a plain rising scale, all of Palestrina's contrapuntal tricks--running the theme forward, backward, inverted, at different speeds in different voices--are easy to spot. Other pieces on the disc include Victoria's luscious double-choir "Ave Maria" and "Salve Regina," which disprove the myth that Victoria's music is all Spanish gloom. Jackson's choir sings all these works with real skill and a beautiful warm tone--who knew that there was early music like this in Montreal? --Matthew Westphal« less
The Pope Marcellus Mass is the first Palestrina mass that most people encounter, but this delicious work makes a far better introduction to his music. The title theme on which the entire mass is based is simple and clear (change "ut" to "do" and think of Julie Andrews); since that theme is a plain rising scale, all of Palestrina's contrapuntal tricks--running the theme forward, backward, inverted, at different speeds in different voices--are easy to spot. Other pieces on the disc include Victoria's luscious double-choir "Ave Maria" and "Salve Regina," which disprove the myth that Victoria's music is all Spanish gloom. Jackson's choir sings all these works with real skill and a beautiful warm tone--who knew that there was early music like this in Montreal? --Matthew Westphal