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Track(s) taken from CDA67099

Magnificat quarti toni a 4 [odd]

composer
1591; 4vv; Magnificat octo tonum liber primus, Rome; Haberl 27:15
author of text
Luke 1: 46-55

Westminster Cathedral Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor)
Recording details: February 1999
Westminster Cathedral, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Antony Howell & Julian Millard
Release date: August 1999
Total duration: 7 minutes 50 seconds

Cover artwork: St John the Evangelist (from the St Thomas altarpiece). Pedro Burruguete (c1450-1504)
Convent of St Thomas, Avila / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘For sheer beauty of sound this recording is unsurpassed’ (Gramophone)

‘Joyous performances’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Even among the Westminster Cathedral Choir's superb records this disc stands out. Perfect chording and ensemble, natural and musical phrasing, spot-on intonation and a glorious tonal blend, make this issue one to treasure’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

‘Under James O'Donnell, Westminster Cathedral Choir has developed into what many regard as the nation's finest church choir. This release justifies that reputation. Palestrina's music emerges as more than the stuff of academic legend. There's a vibrancy in the opening Laudate pueri, while Peccantem me quotidie and Tribulationes civitatum both touch deep emotions, and the Mass Ecce ego Johannes radiates noble majesty. We are reminded that Palestrina was a highly individual composer, and every bit as Italian as, say, Monteverdi’ (The Sunday Times)

‘The listener can rejoice in the sumptuousness of the Westminster Cathedral sound with none of the anxiety over niggling imperfections that one suffers when hearing almost any other ensemble. The combination of accuracy with mastery of style is unrivalled’ (Gramophone Early Music)

‘Yet another superb disc from Westminster Cathedral … many consider not only the finest cathedral choir in Britain, but one of the best in the world. The sound is quite glorious’ (Goldberg)

‘This work could not be better sung than, as here, by the choir of Westminster Cathedral’ (Contemporary Review)
This Magnificat is one of five which Palestrina wrote in Tone 4. He set the text of the Magnificat, in fact, no fewer than thirty-five times; sixteen of them appeared in the Magnificat octo tonum liber primus published in Rome in 1591. It is a pity indeed that they are nowadays somewhat little known, for they are quintessential Palestrina: the servant of the Church quietly writing magnificent music which speaks directly to mankind even—and perhaps especially—today.

from notes by Ivan Moody © 1999

Le Magnificat est l’un des cinq magnificats composés par Palestrina dans le ton 4. En réalité, le compositeur mit ce texte en musique pas moins de trente-cinq fois—dont seize parurent dans le Magnificat octo tonum liber primus (Rome, 1591). Il est fort dommage que ces œuvres soient, de nos jours, un peu méconnues, car elles représentent la quintessence de Palestrina—un Palestrina serviteur de l’Église, écrivant en toute quiétude une musique magnifique qui parle directement à l’humanité, même (et peut-être surtout) aujourd’hui.

extrait des notes rédigées par Ivan Moody © 1999
Français: Hypérion

Das Magnificat ist eines von fünfen, die Palestrina im Tonus 4 geschrieben hat. In der Tat hat er den Text des Magnificat nicht weniger als fünfunddreißigmal bearbeitet; sechzehn seiner Vertonungen sind im Magnificat octo tonum liber primus erschienen, das 1591 in Rom herauskam. Es ist ausgesprochen schade, daß man sie heutzutage kaum kennt, denn sie sind typisch für Palestrina: ein Diener der Kirche, der in aller Stille prachtvolle Musik schreibt, die selbst heute—wahrscheinlich besonders heute—die Menschheit direkt anspricht.

aus dem Begleittext von Ivan Moody © 1999
Deutsch: Anne Steeb/Bernd Müller

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