Classical Music

His Last major work, written in 1603 at the death of the Empress Maria and dedicated to her daughter Margaret, Victoria's six-voice Requiem has always counted as his supreme masterpiece, and it has been recorded at least six times... What distinguishes the Spanish version is the rich bloom of the choral sound in the resonant acoustic at Montserrat. The tempi are steady, the boys' voices are strong and passionate, and the lower voices tend to maintain an accompanying role. Texts are often relegated in favour of the flow of the line, especially at cadences where the final consonants are usually inaudible. Intonation is sometimes less good than is compatible with even the fairly generous vibrato of the singers—particularly in the "Libera me".

So this version makes a striking contrast with the St John's [Decca] recording, where the boys have hard-edged if quiet voices and the men are clear if sometimes rough. The listener who wishes to choose between them would do best to start with the first Kyrie: Montserrat have a far finer sound and an extraordinarily managed slide from one chord to the next; St John's have clearer voices, better intonation and more of the musical details but perhaps less sense of the flow of the whole piece. The recorded sound is less distinct than on many recent records but corresponds more closely to what one is likely to hear half way back in a large cathedral. Some of the main points in Fr Gregori Estrada's useful sleeve-note are rather mangled in the translation—particularly his carefully worded explanation of the splendid slow tempi for the chant sections.

-- Gramophone [10/1978]

The Officium defunctorum by Tom�s Luis de Victoria, published in 1605, is one of the masterworks of the musical Renaissance, which still moves us with it's austerity and expressive power. It was written "in the style of a swansong" for the funeral rites of the composer's patroness, the empress Maria of Austria, sister of Philip II and widow of the emperor Maximilian II. For the first time in a recording, La Grande Chapelle and Schola Antiqua place the work in it's liturgical context, restoring the two original days: the vigil for the dead and the mass which concludes with the rite of absolution. The funeral rites celebrated in Madrid in 1603 are evoked, by means of respecting the original performing forces, the inclusion of the lection, the responsories and the psalms written by Victoria himself, and the use of plainchant taken from sources of the period. This reading brings us closer in a new way to one of the most important dynastic ceremonies of the Spanish Habsburgs of the beginning of the 17th century.

VICTORIA: LAMENTATIONS, TENEBR

Tenebrae return to the sublime music of Tomás Luis de Victoria on Signum with this recording of his timeless Tenebrae Responsories. The works mix the words of the Gospels with other texts commenting on collective suffering written around the 4th century, and would traditionally have been performed as part of a moving service in which candles are slowly extinguished to mark the progress and suffering of Christ that forms the Passion story.

2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Tomás Luis de Victoria. This remarkable Spaniard epitomized the emotion and fervour of Renaissance Europe and could be considered the most outstanding composer of his time. This new boxed set contains four of The Sixteen's celebrated Victoria recordings for the price of three including his masterpiece, the Requiem of 1605 recorded in surround sound and released in SACD format. A beautifully packaged set, which compliments perfectly the release of The Sixteen's newest recording by the composer - Hail, Mother of the Redeemer, also features some of the composer's Lamentations for Holy week. What could make a more appropriate Easter gift? '...a wonderful opportunity to hear previously unrecorded repertoire and to gain a much fuller understanding of a single Renaissance master.' Gramophone on Devotion to our Lady. 'This is what recording should be about...excellent performances and recorded sound... beautiful and moving.' Gramophone on The Mystery of the Cross.

Classical Music

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Classical Music

Classical Music

BBC Music Magazine Choral & Song Choice, June 2011 Performance *****, Recording *****

Beautifully crafted Victoria – BBC Music Magazine Choral & Song Choice Anthony Pryer gives a warm welcome to Tenebrae's superlative disc.

This truly great Requiem by Victoria was written on the death of his patron, the sister of Philip II of Spain. Many choirs have recorded it before including those directed by Harry Christophers (on Coro) and Peter Philips (Gimell). Philips also pairs Victoria's works with those by Lobo (a composer working in Seville), but the insight and advocacy of Nigel Short's recording make it outstanding.

The special problems of this music include the fact that in historical terms its 'pre-emotional' style makes it difficult to evoke meaningful contrast from the notes. Many groups go for a kind of random, lurching, squeeze-box approach to the phrases, but Nigel Shorts choir is more subtle. In Lobos Versa est in luctum he keeps his eye on the overall shape of the piece, wonderfully grading and crafting the musical unfolding. In Victoria's Sanctus the sentiments of the words ('heaven and earth are full of thy glory') prompt a sustained celebration of sound, and in the Responsory ('the day of wrath') Short finds a musical dramaturgy to match that of the text. The Requiem is written for six voices, but this choir of 20 never seems lumbering or unbalanced. They are perfectly tuned (listen to the exquisite poise of the Agnus Dei), and one is rarely aware of intrusive individual singers. The acoustic has a long echo, but the sound is kept nicely in focus. This recording does justice both to the genius of Victoria and to the musicality of Tenebrae.

-- Anthony Pryer, BBC Music Magazine

VICTORIA: Masses

In the late 16th century when vocal polyphony was developing into the excesses of the late Italian madrigal and the powerplay of multi-choir writing in Venice, Victoria, in Rome, chose to write his 18 Tenebrae settings with the simplest texture imaginable: four voices with internal sections for just two or three parts. These perfect miniatures force the question: how can so little mean so much?

Victoria’s austere yet profoundly moving setting of the Responsories for the services of Tenebrae (shadows) is one of the great classics of Renaissance music. In this new recording sung by solo voices it is restored to the low pitch and voicing intended by the composer.

These perfect miniatures are interspersed with nine of Christopher Reid’s heart-rending poems from his 2009 collection and Costa Book of the Year winner, ‘A Scattering’, a moving collection on the dying and death of his wife.

The Sixteen and Harry Christophers have long been applauded for their dedication to the works of Victoria, and this CD is a superb example of the composer's depth and the artists' performance. 'Scholar, mystic, priest, singer, organist, and composer - six persons all rolled into one and that is, quite simply, why Victoria is the most outstanding composer of the Renaissance.' (HC) This Holy Week music combines an intensity of expresion with a sombre passionate and mysterious quality often thought of as peculiarly Spanish. Victoria's own intense faith imbues every note, and is expressed in the words of his own dedication of the piece to the Holy Trinity, 'God, most high Trinity, may every soul praise you. For ever reign over those you save through the Mystery of the Cross.'

VICTORIA Sancta Maria succurre miseris. Salve Regina. Super flumina Babylonis. Seniores populi. Vidi speciosam. Q quam gloriosum. Misericordiae Domini. Lux aeterna. Congratulamini mihi. Kyrie • Harry Christophers, dir; The Sixteen • CORO CORDVD 6 (DVD: 60:00)


This hour-long program was produced for BBC together with Spanish and German television to mark the anniversary of the composer’s death. The singing was filmed in the Church of San Antonio de los Alemanes in Madrid, a lavishly ornate Baroque church built by Philip III soon after coming to the throne and before Tomás Luis de Victoria’s death. Simon Russell Beale narrates the life of the composer and Harry Christophers has some comments to add. The video format allows the integration of music, painting (El Greco), architecture, and spirituality into one presentation. St. Teresa of Avila was also born in Victoria’s home town, where he knew her as a boy. She reformed the Carmelite order along with St. John of the Cross, and both contributed immensely to the spirit of the times by their writings in mystical theology. We also see the chapel of the Carmelite convent where Victoria spent the last 25 years of his life as chaplain to the dowager empress Maria, Philip II’s sister, and the chapel of El Escorial, the palace that Philip II built outside Madrid.


The music is a sampling of Victoria’s output, including excerpts from his two masterpieces, the Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae and the Officium Defunctorum . Christophers argues that Victoria is the greatest composer of the Renaissance, a claim that has been made for Palestrina and Lassus, but one that has led him to a fervent interpretation of the composer’s music on six CDs (including the Tenebrae Responsories on Virgin). There are several video features added to the main program. Sometimes the music seems subsidiary to the unfolding story, but the whole is greater than its parts. This disc is a worthy tribute to mark the quatercentenary of a great composer.


FANFARE: J. F. Weber


NTSC, Region 0, 16:9 (Widescreen), Color, English w/ Spanish Sub (Stereo), Not Rated, Run Time: 60 min.