Victoria - Missa Gaudeamus
a liturgical sequence, with organ works by Girolamo Frescobaldi
Thomas Wilson (organ)
Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks, Matthew Martin
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 6th July 2009
An elaborate musical mosaic, the appeal of which owes much to the atmospheric depths of the Westminster acoustic, beautifully captured on this recording
Victoria - Missa Gaudeamus
a liturgical sequence, with organ works by Girolamo Frescobaldi
Thomas Wilson (organ)
Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks, Matthew Martin
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 6th July 2009
An elaborate musical mosaic, the appeal of which owes much to the atmospheric depths of the Westminster acoustic, beautifully captured on this recording
About
A new recording from Westminster Cathedral features the gentlemen of their choir in a fascinating programme which brings to life the musical and liturgical traditions of this foundation.
This recording by the lay clerks of Westminster Cathedral presents a full choral, and instrumental, celebration of Mass for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which falls on 15 August. It is based on music by two major composers, Tomás Luis de Victoria and Girolamo Frescobaldi. Victoria’s Missa Gaudeamus provides the central feature of an elaborate liturgical sequence in which other music—including motets by Victoria, Mass Propers and other passages of chant, and organ music by Frescobaldi in several forms—is interpolated between the movements of the Mass Ordinary. This festive celebration of Mass is intended not as a reconstruction of a known occasion in the early seventeenth century, but as a sort of musical offering that illustrates the complex liturgical structures becoming available in a period when the resources for the enrichment of the liturgy were growing steadily.
Contents and tracklist
- Thomas Wilson (organ)
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Thomas Wilson (organ)
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Thomas Wilson (organ)
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
- Westminster Cathedral Lay Clerks
- Matthew Martin
Spotlight on this release
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Tomás Luis de Victoria
6th Jul 2009
The Lay Clerks of Westminster Cathedral and Matthew Martin present the Spanish master’s Missa Gaudeamus, interspersed with passages of chant and organ music by Frescobaldi, in an account which impressed with its focus and purity.
Awards and reviews
-
Presto Recording of the Week6th July 2009
An elaborate musical mosaic, the appeal of which owes much to the atmospheric depths of the Westminster acoustic, beautifully captured on this recording
September 2009
A stunning disc that will become the new benchmark in this repertoire. Westminster Cathedral's 19 Lay Clerks give a beautifully paced rendition of Victoria's rarely performed… Missa Gaudeamus. Organ and choir come together in the final Recercar: Sancta Maria by Frescobaldi. The choral blend is - as might be expected - superb and exquisitely balanced. The countertenors soar to amazing heights without the slightest hint of strain.
Close-up, full-throated and passionate
6th July 2009
The male voices of Westminster Cathedral choir sing with a purity that emphasises every ounce of this beauty, while Hyperion’s sound captures the atmosphere of the Cathedral without ever losing focus.
26th June 2009
New recordings of Tomas Luis de Victoria's intensely beautiful mass settings, the musical peak of the Spanish Renaissance, come along frequently enough. This latest, recorded in Westminster cathedral, places one of them...It makes a compelling whole, sung with rapt purity by the male voices of Westminster Cathedral choir.
19th July 2009
This offers satisfying musical variety, sung with smooth elegance by the Lay Clerks of Westminster cathedral...the Gloria, Benedictus and Agnus Dei of the Mass itself do full justice to Victoria's sublime, seamlessly flowing polyphony.
