Tomas Louis de Victoria is one of the best Spanish composers of all time and his Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae is his most important major work. In this collection, Victoria sets the Holy Week celebrations from Palm Sunday to Good Friday to music. The monumental work includes eighteen responsories, nine laments of the prophet Jeremiah, two passions, motets, hymns and other liturgical texts in polyphonic vocal settings. The ensemble La Colombina, together with the Gregorian chant specialists of the Schola Antiqua, has the merit of having recorded this work for the first time in it's entirety and within it's liturgical context. This famous recording was made as a live recording in April 2005, was out of print in recent years and is now available again as a re-release on 3 CDs.

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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.

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

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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

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VICTORIA: Masses