MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

REVIEW


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


Buy through MusicWeb
for £12 postage paid World-wide.

Musicweb Purchase button

Sound Samples & Downloads

 

Tomás Luis de VICTORIA (c.1548-1611)
Motet, Dum complerentur [5:42]
Missa Dum complerentur [29:52]
Missa Simile est regnum coelorumitem [23:28]
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford/Stephen Darlington
rec. Dorchester Abbey, Oxford, England, 12-13 July 1993. DDD
NIMBUS NI5434 [59:02]

Experience Classicsonline


 
Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548-1611) was an innovator in that he introduced the styles developed by the Italian, Palestrina (1525/1526-1594) into his native Iberian peninsula. It's probable that the younger composer studied with the older one while in Rome. Indeed, it was during Victoria's extended stay in Rome that he wrote the main work on this CD, the Mass, Dum complerentur dies Pentecostes.
 
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Victoria's work was nearly all published during his lifetime, and was duly celebrated then too. He composed a total of twenty masses, of which the bulk (15) are 'parody masses'. The term 'parody' does not imply satire at all; simply that their musical material is derived from one (or rarely more) pre-existing source(s) … usually a motet or chanson. That's the case with each of the two Masses included on this CD. The motet (by Victoria) on which Dum complerentur the Mass itself is based prefaces it, on track 1. That (by Guerrero) for the Mass, Simile est regnum coelorumitem, is not provided here for contrast, even though the CD lasts under an hour.
 
Each of the seven (there are two Agnus Dei movements) segments of Dum complerentur is based upon a different arrangement of the two phrases which begin the motet. The way Simile est regnum coelorumitem develops is simpler.
 
The intonation, articulation and textures arrived at by Christ Church Cathedral Choir throughout all the music on this CD are straightforward, transparent and crisp enough for all aspects of this lovely music to make their impact. The upper lines are perhaps a little thin and brighter than might be wished. On the other hand, the tempi and expressive phrasing are well-judged and allow Victoria's beautiful confluence of melody and harmony to make their effect on all levels. The sense of matching pauses and continuities and architecture to tonality in the Gloria of Dum complerentur [tr.3], for example, is typically clear and persuasive.
 
Similarly the sense of serenity and peace which the choir achieves in singing Simile est regnum coelorumitem is palpable. The tempi are slow while not being languorous; the sense of space for the musical ideas to breathe is created - then respected - admirably. Listen to the intonation by soloists of the theme at the start of each movement. No hurry. Yet a feeling of gentle and dignified declamation that sets the pace for the movement that follows. The choir brings the listener with it in a most satisfying way. In neither mass, though, do the singers 'dawdle'. Listen to the pace at which the credo of Simile est regnum [tr.11] is taken. No urgency; but appropriate urging.
 
There is one comparable recording only of the Mass, Dum Complerentur by the Westminster Cathedral Choir under James O'Donnell on Hyperion [66886]. This CD has the only recording of the Mass, Simile est regnum coelorumitem, in the current catalogue. This makes the offering particularly enticing. The acoustic (Dorchester Abbey, Oxford) is moderately roomy; though maybe a little greater reverberation would have worked too. The booklet is minimal - although it does contain the texts.
 
Mark Sealey
 
 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.