Search - Tomas Luis de Victoria, Guillaume Dufay, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina :: ~Sanctus~~Meditations For The Soul~

Excellent and Beautiful Music, Truly

B. Lotfinia | Philadelphia, PA | 07/16/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Despite the absolute beauty and sublime texture of most of the tracks, a few of the longer pieces tend to drag on the ears as they progress.That said, I will reiterate that the majority of songs on this CD are magnificent and merit the purchase of this disc. Of particular interest are Tracks 1 and 8. Victoria (Vittoria) has always been my favorite composer of mysteries, motets and such, and the Sanctus from Missa pro Defunctis is one of the most emotional, deeply spiritual and reflective, almost pensive, peices of his I've heard.Palestrina, not to be outdone, and in stark contrast to Victoria, provides a joyous, light but no less sacred peices.Regardless of the few flaws, this is a CD to buy and keep and enjoy."

Truly meditation and relief for soul. Contributed by Pope's

Michel Merlin | Versailles, France | 12/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For the ones (as me) not particularly versed in XV-th-XVI-th sacred music, this disc is interesting by exposing 7 different great composers, Guillaume Dufay (~1377-1474), Antoine Busnois (~1430-1492), Josquin des Prez (~1450-1521), Cristóbal de Morales (~1500-1553), Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594), William Byrd (1540-1623), Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611), thus framing Palestrina with predecessors and successors, particularly Morales and Victoria. The differences between the 7 composers, while probably interesting for specialists, are little perceivable; for me this all is essentially old sacred songs, as beautiful, plain and monotone as ever; but the perfect selection and rendering makes the disc remain lively, swift, and at the same time spiritual and entertaining.



Another interest of this disc is the contribution of Monsignor George Ratzinger, elder brother of Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI); he led for 30 years the 1000-y old Regensburger Domspatzen (Regensburg St-Peter Cathedral's Sparrows, the world oldest boys choir), and was (after Theobald Schrems 1924-1964) the second of the 2 Domkapellmeister's who made it world-famous in the XX-th century by rising it to excellence.



Finally I found this disc more lively and young than expected, and neither boring nor flawed. This is truly beautiful music indeed, perfectly played and recorded, that will probably be a ravishment for specialists, a spiritual comfort for many, and surely and for a long time, a very pleasant entertainment for about anyone else.



Versailles, Mon 10 Dec 2007 18:57 +0100"