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Discography
SHEPPARD
Gregorian Chant: Midnight Mass for Queen Mary Tudor
Herald HAVPCD195
Recorded in: Charterhouse Chapel, September 1995
John Sheppard: Missa Cantate, Verbum caro, Laudes Deo
Until the recent discovery of his will, the biographical mist hanging over John Sheppard (c.1515-59) was virtually impenetrable. We still know nothing of his early years but at least we know a good deal about his later professional life. In the late 1540s Sheppard moved to London, where his name appears in Chapel Royal lists until his death in January 1559. In this liturgical reconstruction, Musica Contexta present Sheppard’s most elaborate mass setting in the atmospheric context of the First Mass of Christmas, as it might have been celebrated in the Chapel Royal during the reign of Queen Mary.
PALESTRINA
Between 1997 and 2001 Musica Contexta recorded Palestrina’s music for Holy Week in three highly acclaimed discs for Chandos. Mostly of unrecorded music, the series was unanimously acclaimed as revelatory by critics.
‘Palestrina at his most expressive…I can recommend the whole set without reservation.’ Jeremy Summerly, Radio 3 CD Review
Palestrina: Music for Maundy Thursday
Catalogue: CHAN0617
Recorded in: All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak, London, 23 - 25 October 1997
Palestrina: Lamentations for Maundy Thursday I-III (Book III), Benedictus, Miserere mei. Chant: Guidetti, Rome, 1587
‘This is a seriously beautiful disc… these works shine with an extraordinarily moving, sombre dignity’. Classic CD – CD of the Month
‘Astonishing intensity and dark passion… a revelation’. Fiona Maddocks, The Observer
‘Extraordinary richness of expression… a wealth of humanity and an acute spiritual response’. Daily Telegraph
'…the blend of voices is excellent, pitch is suitably low and the performances are beautifully poised.' Early Music
‘A revelation… Musica Contexta respond magnificently to this music…. superbly controlled but at the same time deeply felt singing, Ivan Moody, Goldberg
Palestrina: Music for Good Friday
Catalogue: CHAN0652
Recorded in: All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak, London, 20-22 April 1999
Palestrina: Lamentations for Good Friday I-III (Book III), Vexilla Regis, Crux fidelis – Pange lingua, Improperia. Chant: Guidetti, Rome, 1587
‘When I put this on I simply didn’t want it to stop’. Andrew McGreggor, Radio 3
‘Remarkable for its beauty and devotion… beautifully performed and recorded… a deeply satisfying whole. Five stars.’ Classic CD
‘Powerfully expressive…performances marked by subtle dynamic shading, great sensitivity of phrasing and near-faultless ensemble…how could anyone call this music austere?’ International Record Review
‘The all-adult male choir is perfectly suited to this music of desolation… not quite the unemotional Palestrina you thought you knew’. Daily Telegraph
Palestrina: Music for Holy Saturday
Catalogue: CHAN0679
Recorded in: All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak, London, 18-20 April 2001
Palestrina: Lamentations for Holy Saturday I-III (Book III), Stabat mater, Benedictus for Holy Week, Sicut cervus
Chant: Guidetti, Rome, 1587
‘Superbly performed and vividly recorded… Palestrina’s polyphony here has a biting edge, beautifully achieved in this performance’. Penguin Guide
‘Outstanding…a wonderful recording’.Gramophone (Editor’s Choice April 2002, Critics’ Choice 2002, Early Music Award 2002 Shortlist)
‘Beautifully composed singing…Musica Contexta delivers the direct and intense music with a potent emotional charge’. ***** BBC Music Magazine
‘The finest recording to date of the famous Stabat Mater.’ International Record Review
‘A masterful performance.’ Early Music Review
‘These powerful performances bring out the music’s latent intensity’. Daily Telegraph
''The technical standard could hardly be better... these are exceptionally fine perfomances.'' American Record Guide
Le Divin Arcadelt: Candlemas in Renaissance Rome
Catalogue: CHAN0779
Recorded in St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, 17-19 May 2010
Arcadelt: Missa Ave Regina caelorum, Pater noster, Hodie beata virgo Maria
De Silva: Inviolata integra et casta es Maria, Ave Regina caelorum
Palestrina: Senex puerum portabat, Diffusa est gratia
Chant: Graduale Romanum
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"Through the works of Arcadelt, de Silva, and Palestrina, the vocal ensemble Musica Contexta, with The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, takes us on a journey of musical Rome on a February day at the end of the sixteenth century. Imagine walking through the streets of the city at Candlemas, the Day of Purification - in the Catholic Church, this day celebrates the Purification of Mary and the official presentation of Christ at the Temple forty days after his birth - and at each church we come to we stop and listen to a piece of music. In one church we might find a single falsetto voice accompanied by sackbuts, in the next an unaccompanied choir, and elsewhere a full choir with wind instruments.
"The reason for this diversity was that Rome, despite being the main exporter of religious customs, was musically very open to external influences. In a melting-pot of national styles, one of the strongest of these influences came from Iberian musicians such as Andreas de Silva. For a period of two years, de Silva held the position of ‘cantor et compositor’ of the Cappella Sistina in Rome, and it is here, in the Sistine Chapel, that his motet Ave Regina caelorum (recorded here) survives today.
"The other great influence on Italian Renaissance music came from Northern France and the Low Countries. Between 1539 and 1551, Jacques Arcadelt was a member of the Cappella Sistina, where he would have come across de Silva’s motet, which he used as the basis for his Ave Regina caelorum mass (also recorded here). A case of plagiarism in today’s eyes, perhaps, but in the Renaissance, Arcadelt’s gesture would have been seen as paying de Silva the highest compliment. Truth be told, there are clear differences between the two: de Silva’s work is more tonally focused, and Arcadelt made several changes to the texture and word-setting. Also on this album are two of Arcadelt’s motets, the sumptuous Pater noster and the emotionally charged Hodie beata virgo Maria.
"In the year that Arcadelt left Rome to return to France, Palestrina arrived in the city. Part of a growing wave of native Italian musical talent, Palestrina enhanced the religious music scene in Rome with hundreds of compositions, including 105 masses, sixty-eight offertories, including Diffusa est gratia, at least 140 madrigals, and more than 300 motets, among them Senex puerum portabat." | |
