Gregorio Allegri (1582-1562)
Miserere

Thomas Tallis (?1505-1585)
Spem in Alium

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Stabat Mater

Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676)
Salve Regina

Sebastian de Vivanco (1551-1622)
Magnificat octavi toni

Antonio Lotti (1666-1740)
Crucifixus

William Byrd (1543-1623)
Ave verum corpus

Josquin des Prés (1440-1521)
Absalom fili mi

Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613)
O vos omnes

Tomás Luis de Victoria (?1548-1611)
O vos omnes

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Laudate pueri
Ave Maris Stella

Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612)
Ahi senza te
Dolce nemica mia
Alma cortes’ e bella
Kyrie eleison
Fuggi pur se sai

Alessandro Strigio (1540-1592)
Ninfe leggiadre e belle

Adrian Willaert (?1490-1562)
O bene mio

Johann Grabbe (1585-1655)
Cor mio

Hans Nielsen (1580-1626)
Deh dolce anima

Mogens Pederson (?1583-1623)
T'amo mia vita

Andrea Gabrieli (1520-1586)
In nobil sangue
Alla bataglia
Amor dove mi giundi
A le guancie de rose
Gloria
Omnes gentes plaudite

Claudio Merulo (1533-1604)
Sanctus
Credo de la messe "Benedicam Dominum"
Hodie christus natus est
Agnus Dei

La Chapelle du Roi
Alastair Dixon, direction
Ensemble San Felice
Federico Bardazzi, direction
Chœur du Clare College de Cambridge
Timothy Brown, direction
Chœur du King's College de Cambridge
Stephen Cleobury, direction
Chœur du St John's College de Cambridge
Christopher Robinson, direction
Chamber Choir of Europe
Nicol Matt, direction

The Renaissance era of the 16th and 17th centuries encompasses some of the most magnificent choral music ever written, at a time when composers were attached to royal chapels and cathedrals, and dedicated their art to the service of God, to creating musical masterworks that would complement and reflect the glory of the architecture which contained them. This album contains some of the most enduring masterpieces from that era. It opens with the haunting strains of the Miserere which Allegri wrote for the Lenten liturgies of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome: the austere, haunting harmonies quickly became so renowned that the basilica moved to protect the work’s uniqueness by withholding the score and allowing performances only by its own choir. There follows the Renaissance blockbuster Spem in alium, which Thomas Tallis created in 40 separate parts, to rival the grand but more static conception of an Italian contemporary. The courts of Spain and the Netherlands are also represented, with the lamenting O vos omnes by Victoria and Absalon fili mii by Josquin. The performances are compiled from albums by some of the world’s most renowned choirs for this repertoire, mostly based in the English centre of choral excellence, the chapels of Cambridge. However, the music is largely Italian in origin, as one might expect: the melancholy strains of Palestrina’s Stabat mater and Lotti’s magical, eight-part Crucifixus are answered by more joyful and exuberant pieces by Monteverdi and Gabrieli, conceived for the Basilica of St Mark’s in Venice. This is a unique collection on record, enhanced by a lively introduction in the booklet to each work and composer on the album.