Special offer. Guerrero - The Battle Mass
& other sacred music
The Choir of Westminster Cathedral & His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts, James O’Donnell
These performances show that Guerrero deserves his anniversary celebration
Special offer. Guerrero - The Battle Mass
& other sacred music
The Choir of Westminster Cathedral & His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts, James O’Donnell
Purchase product
These performances show that Guerrero deserves his anniversary celebration
About
Following the success of their previous recording of Guerrero (Missa Sancta et immaculata, CDA66910), here The Choir of Westminster Cathedral is joined by an ensemble of instruments. These were chosen to accord with our extensive knowledge of the band of ministriles employed at Seville Cathedral during Guerrero's long career there. 1999 is the year which celebrates the fourth centenary of Guerrero's death. A substantial number of the works are from the Vespers book of 1584 which was dedicated to Guerrero's senior colleagues, the Dean and Chapter, the canons of Seville Cathedral. Addressing them in his preface, the composer asserts that the Almighty always had found it acceptable that the ceremonies of divine worship in the Temple of Jerusalem were offered with a full ensemble of singers and with various types of instrumental music, 'not forgetting that His worship is presently offered with equal ceremony' [at Seville Cathedral]. In this recording we hope that we may try to experience something close to what Guerrero knew.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
These performances show that Guerrero deserves his anniversary celebration
James O’Donnell and the Westminster Choir have surely come up with another stunning winner. Hyperion and all involved in this record deserve a very special accolade
Early Music Review
A very important disc
2010
Despite his suggestive name, Guerrero's parody of Janequin's La Bataille de Marignan isn't the work of a fighting man: fanfares and alarums are definitely off the agenda while he develops, in an often rather sober manner, the smooth counterpoint of his model. Only in the 'Osanna' does Guerrero let rip, a moment seized on with gusto by the choir and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts. Guerrero spent his career at Seville Cathedral, where the chapter was one of the first in Spain to agree to the establishment of a permanent, salaried wind band to participate in processions and at other points in divine worship.
It appears to have been one of Guerrero's duties to sort out what and when, and even how (scoring and ornamentation were part of his brief) the minstrels played.
The instruments (shawms, cornetts, sackbuts, dulcian and organ) subtly double the voices, adding depth to the sound, and strengthening major cadence points. Particularly striking is the earthy tone of the bajón (dulcian) reinforcing the bass line in proto-continuo fashion. In fact, it's in the other items on this CD that the combination of voices and instruments really comes into its own. The setting of the psalm In exitu Israel experiments with Guerrero's forces (including cornetts and recorders), resulting in an opulence of sound more readily associated with Venetian music of the period. But this isn't just an exercise in applied musicology. These are well-paced, intelligent performances that get inside the skin of Guerrero's marvellous music. Don't be surprised to find yourself humming the Spanish chant for the hymn Conditor alme siderum after this compelling rendition. The musicianship is superb, the technical element entirely satisfactory and satisfying.
Anniversary CD of the year—and my personal favourite
2011 edition
Throughout the disc the eloquent singing, very well balanced and never overwhelming the brass choir, makes this a varied and highly enjoyable introduction to a remarkable composer.
