Hyperion Records

This is the first hymn of the ecclesiastical year and the first of Guerrero’s set of liturgical Office Hymns included in his 1584 Vespers book. Guerrero sets the Spanish triple-time variant of the traditional melody, putting it into the stately measure called tempus perfectum. Thus the swinging tune is slowed so that it can be festooned with running counterpoint as the three accompanying voices surround the alto (verse 2), the treble (v4) and the bass (v6) when these voices carry the chant.

from notes by Bruno Turner © 1999