Search - Tomas Luis de Victoria, Alonso Lobo, The Tallis Scholars :: Victoria: Requiem

Uplifting...

FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 06/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"--Tomas Luis de Victoria--
Often considered the greatest of the Spanish composers, Tomas Luis de Victoria (Italianised as Tommaso Luigi da Vittoria) was born in Avila in 1549. He was trained in church music as he trained for the priesthood with the Jesuits; one of his teachers may have been the great Palestrina in Rome. He was ordained in Rome by the last pre-Reformation English Catholic bishop in Rome. He served in various music and clerical positions under papal auspices in Italy before returning to his native Spain in the late 1500s. His music incorporates the mystical sense of religion as well as the strong church-music traditions. He died in Madrid in 1611.--Requiem--
The Requiem Mass is the last of Victoria's works, and was written for his patron, the Empress Maria, upon her death in 1603. This is often considered his masterpiece, and an exemplar of Spanish Renaissance music. It is definitely different in style and substance from the better-known English and Italian music of the same period. The ten sections of the Requiem are all scored for six-part voicing, SSATTB (save for the first part, a smaller but grand four-voice Taedet animam meam). --Alonso Lobo and 'Versa est in luctum'--
Lobo was considered the finest composer in Spain during his lifetime (1555-1617, a rough overlap with Victoria), and possibly regarded in this way Victoria himself. This disc concludes with a beautiful setting of Versa est in luctum, written for the funeral of the Empress Maria's brother, Philip II. --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 'Burial of Court Orgaz', by El Greco, who was a contemporary of Tomas Luis deVictoria.--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 pieces by Victoria and 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 astonishing. The music on this disc was originally recorded in 1987."

Highest recommendation

Bruce F. Fairley | Golden, B.C. Canada | 09/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you could only own one disk to characterize the Spanish Renaissance, this would be it. The Tallis Scholars rendering of the Victoria Requiem conveys the incredible mystical and ethereal quality of the work superbly. The only Renaissance works I know which achieve the same spiritual intensity are the masses of Byrd. Listening to the Victoria Requiem in this recording, I could not help but speculate on the relationship between Victoria and his patron - of all the Renaissance masses this one seems to convey above all a sense of tragic destiny, a mood the Tallis Scholars convey with astonishing power. I have listened to this disk dozens of times, and each time I remain amazed at the power and intensity of the interpretation."

Nice Singing, Great Sound, A Little Bland

Timothy Dougal | Madison, Wi United States | 03/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have only heard two recordings of this work, but overall I find this one more satisfying than the other. The Tallis Scholars are a small male/female group who sing superbly and are nicely recorded here. The only reservation is that the performance, while serenely beautiful and sonorous, lacks some of the drama that seems to me to be inherent in the music. All the same, a good choice, this superb late Renaissance polyphonic work."