To mark the quatercentenary of Victoria's death, Hyperion have
re-issued this superb collection of half a dozen works in praise
of the Virgin Mary on their budget Helios line. Central to these
works is the Mass, Missa Vidi speciosam. Published as
part of a collection in 1592, it was written for six part choir
(SSATTB) and typifies Victoria's less florid, expansive style
when compared particularly with that of Palestrina.
The experienced singers of the Choir of Westminster Cathedral
under David Hill deliver forward, transparent and convincing
accounts of all the music on this rather slim - at three quarters
of an hour - release. Their voices, individually, have the qualities
that privilege the texts over a welter of counterpoint or even
over the melodic richness which obtained in English choral polyphony
of the time. Although there is a certain distance between the
singers and the listeners, a restrained formality, their style
is warm, intimate and full of confidence. Voices at times a
little thin - in the credo of the Mass [tr.8], for example
- may at first be slightly off-putting. But they're very real
too.
It is also a style of singing very much of its time, of the
early 1980s when exploration, debate and experimentation in,
with and about the various ways to perform such music as this
was more forceful than it is today. There was still much 'bedding
in' to be done in order for the authentic nature of the music
to be communicated at the same time as making it as appealing
as possible. Subdued organ playing by James O'Donnell can be
discerned, though barely, in all but the first two items. The
priorities of Hill and the Choir of Westminster Cathedral are
to convey the authority and established nature of this lovely
music as much as its spectacular nature, its place in the tradition
of Renaissance polyphony - still less its origins in the Spain
of Victoria's time. This is music, not without context; but
music to be heard for what it is.
A resulting eagerness is most discernible in the high voices
- in the Sancta Maria, succurre miseris [tr.5], especially.
This confers a lightness and - fortunately - at the same time
an immediacy that sits well with the music. This is only because
Hill's singers understand the need for and ways in which to
generate musical impetus as much through respect as effect.
In other words, these are genuine, delicate and uplifting accounts.
The acoustic is just right for the setting of the Mass and appropriate
for the other items as well. Despite the recording's age (it's
over 25 years), it is vibrant and focuses our attention on the
texts. These are all reproduced in the booklet - in Latin and
English.
Mark Sealey
Choir of Westminster Cathedral/James O'Donnell*; David Hill 