Sancta Maria, succurre miseris (Morales) - from CDA67694 - Hyperion Records

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Track(s) taken from CDA67694

Digital booklet (PDF)

Sancta Maria, succurre miseris

composer

Cristóbal de Morales (c1500-1553)

4vv; before 1543

author of text

Anonymous - liturgical

Magnificat Antiphon for First Vespers on Marian Feasts

The Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice (conductor)

Recording details: September 2007
Merton College Chapel, Oxford, United Kingdom
Produced by Jeremy Summerly
Engineered by Justin Lowe
Release date: September 2008
Total duration: 3 minutes 39 seconds

Cover artwork: Virgin Annunciate (1450/5). Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro) (c1387-1455)
Detroit Institute of Arts, USA, Bequest of Eleanor Clay Ford / Bridgeman Images

Reviews

‘This is The Brabant Ensemble at their most vigorous and confident … in a fast-growing discography, this is a valuable addition’ (Gramophone)

‘Rice and his ensemble reveal a composer of warmth and passion who could also write resplendently joyful music when required … the whole recital is marked by an extraordinary unanimity of ensemble, security of intonation and intelligence that surpass all rivals in the repertory. In short, this is a valuable and exquisitely sung addition to the Morales discography’ (International Record Review)

‘Music of astonishing beauty and rapt polyphonic intensity, which the voices of the Brabant Ensemble unfold with perfect poise’ (The Guardian)

‘The Magnficat setting glows with power, and the three Lamentations have a grave beauty impossible to resist with the radiant tone and golden blend of Stephen Rice's Brabant Ensemble. The wise selection focuses on material underexposed elsewhere’ (The Times)

‘The young Oxford choir turns its immaculate ensemble, lucid diction and faultless tuning to the Spanish composer Morales. His Lamentations flow with exquisite sadness … the lines blend like threads in a tapestry … the selection of motets is rich with dynamic contrast, expressivity and downright beautiful singing’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘This first-rate recording makes an important contribution not only for its exceptional performances, but in its thoughtful programming … essential’ (Classics Today)

A third Marian motet, Sancta Maria, succurre miseris, forms one of four linked settings, one each by the three great Spanish composers (Francisco Guerrero and Tomás Luis de Victoria being the other two), based originally on an earlier setting by Philippe Verdelot. Not only did Morales draw heavily on Verdelot’s melodic material in this setting, but Guerrero’s is related to Morales’s, and Victoria’s to all three.

Un troisième motet marial, Sancta Maria, succurre miseris appartient à une série de quatre œuvres connexes, signées des trois grands compositeurs espagnols (Morales, Francisco Guerrero et Tomás Luis de Victoria) et fondées sur une version antérieure de Philippe Verdelot: Morales, le premier, emprunta beaucoup au matériau mélodique de Verdelot, avant d’inspirer à son tour Guerrero, puis Victoria, qui puisa chez tous trois.

Eine dritte marianische Motette, Sancta Maria, succurre miseris, ist eine von vier verknüpften Vertonungen, jeweils eine der drei großen spanischen Komponisten (die anderen beiden sind Francisco Guerrero und Tomás Luis de Victoria), die auf einer früheren von Philippe Verdelot basierten. Morales bezieht sich vielfach auf Verdelots melodisches Material, Guerreros Satz ist mit Morales’ verwandt und Victorias mit allen drei.

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Sancta Maria, succurre miseris

The Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice (conductor)

Reviews

Introduction