Customer Reviews

Victoria: Responsories for Tenebrae

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
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I don't know how to put this in words. I never knew this composer existed before hearing this cd but I will be doing some research to find out more. This is a beautiful, powerfull experience. The recording is simply outstanding. Remarkable clarity and presence. Thank you, Hyperion!

When novelist Vonnegut, who happenened to be an atheist, suggested that some music possibly has the power to change the mind of an atheist concerning the existence of a supernatural being, then I suggest that he may have been refering to the compositions of Victoria. The fact is that the composer was a darling of powerful men in the Catholic church during a time we know as the Renaissance. He must have been completely aware of his circumstances given his success in pleasing authorities and suggesting the absolute divine by means of the human voice. I can find very little wrong with this particular recording. The direction and performance are truly superb. I question one aspect of performance and recording, however. The SA parts of the SATB seem a little thin and weak. But that may only be because I prefer women's voices to boys.

Every Holy Week I listen to the Tenebrae Responsories by the great Spanish Renaissance composer Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611), which are so appropriate for this most solemn (and ultimately joyous) season on the Christian calendar. This 1987 Hyperion recording by the Westminster Cathedral Choir under David Hill is a particularly fine one, eclipsed only by the legendary 1959 Decca recording by the Westminster Cathedral Choir under George Malcolm, reissued more than once on the London label.

Angelic sounds that help to keep the grind of the daily pace at peace. Eighty percent of my day is writing or reading loc so I need something that will allow me intense concentration without distraction . . . this is beautiful for that . . . and when a function doesn't run as expected I am able to deal with it from a peaceful perspective. PTL