The Hilliard Ensemble - Orlando di Lasso : Missa pro Defunctis, Prophetiae Sibyllarum - 1998.

The Hilliard Ensemble - Orlando di Lasso : Missa pro Defunctis, Prophetiae Sibyllarum - 1998.
Orlando di Lasso :
Missa pro Defunctis
Prophetiae Sibyllarium
Recorded November 1993
Boxgrove Priory, Chichester
The Hilliard Ensemble :
David James : Countertenor
Rogers Covey-Crump : Tenor
John Potter : Tenor
Gordon Jones : Baritone

Eac / ape (img + cue).
Recovery : 3%.
Total rar size : CD / Covers / Full Booklet : 265 MB / 3 parts.
Total playing-time : 62':53" .
Included : Full Covers, Full Booklet, CD in 300 dpi.


Reviews :
BBC music Magazine : Nicholas Rast
Performance : *****
Sound : *****


From the outset, the Hilliard Ensemble strikes an arrestingly sombre tone with the bass intonation Memento mei Deus on its latest disc of music by Lassus. Dark colours persist with the exquisitely poised account of the Missa pro defunctis, published in 1578. Splendidly recorded in Boxgrove Priory’s richly resonant acoustics, these singers – with sensational control in both the chording and the hypnotic, slow-moving counterpoint – powerfully transmit Lassus’s exceptional ability to express the inner soul of the text. For example, they illustrate the confident religious belief expressed in the Graduale with remarkable tonal shading, while their astonishing textural variety elsewhere breathes living spirit into Lassus’s magnificent polyphony. The Prophetiae Sibyllarum demonstrate the intriguing absorption of ancient pagan culture into the Christian liturgy. The Hilliard Ensemble negotiates the complex tuning and outrageous dissonance in this curious and in many ways surprising work with consummate skill. But the result far exceeds mere vocal virtuosity. Its finely judged portrayal of the score’s balance between harmony and melodic line impressively conveys the music’s increasing stability from the disturbing harmonies and startling outbursts of the earlier sections (‘lumine’ in Sibylla Libyca for instance) to the optimistic prophecies of Christ’s birth in the final ones.


The sensible sound magazine
The Hilliard Ensemble's Lassus is recorded, as you might expect, with more sense of space and reverberation. I am not even going to pretend to be knowledgeable about this music by the 16th-century composer Orlando di Lasso; all I can do is say in simpleminded mid-Ohio honesty, "Gee, it's really pretty and I really like it." Those familiar with previous recordings by the Hilliard Ensemble already know how disciplined yet expressive their voices sound, and with ECM giving them a warm, rich acoustic space, the end result is sonic and musical joy.
More infos about The Hilliard Ensemble : Here
More infos about this album and to listen to the samples : Here


Tracklist :
CD : The Hilliard Ensemble - Orlando di Lasso : Missa pro Defunctis, Prophetiae Sibyllarum - 1998.
01. Missa Pro Defunctis : Responsorium : Memento Mei [0:01:47.73]
02. Introitus [0:06:12.33]
03. Kyrie [0:03:19.09]
04. Graduale [0:05:02.00]
05. Offertorium [0:05:36.60]
06. Sanctus & Benedictus [0:04:31.73]
07. Agnus Dei [0:03:04.33]
08. Communio [0:03:23.64]
09. Antiphona : In Paradisum [0:01:25.86]
10. Prophetiae Sibyllarum : Carmina Chromatico [0:01:35.60]
11. Sibylla Persica [0:02:32.20]
12. Sibylla Libyca [0:02:41.06]
13. Sibylla Delphica [0:02:15.62]
14. Sibylla Cimmeria [0:02:16.80]
15. Sibylla Samia [0:01:54.50]
16. Sibylla Cumana [0:02:15.93]
17. Sibylla Hellespontiaca [0:02:07.46]
18. Sibylla Phrygia [0:01:54.80]
19. Sibylla Europaea [0:02:14.80]
20. Sibylla Tiburtina [0:02:11.60]
21. Sibylla Erythraea [0:02:25.76]
22. Sibylla Agrippa [0:02:24.93]


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