One of the Tallis Scholars' best
Sid Nuncius | London England | 07/09/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It was the Tallis Scholars who introduced me to the music of Victoria with their wonderful recording of his Requiem in the late 80s. It has remained one of my very favourite recordings ever since, and this is just as good. The music is for Holy Week, to be sung on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday and has the intense, passionate feel appropriate to those days. It gradually expands in scale as it progresses, beginning with four-voice settings and finishing with a truly impressive eight-voice setting whose effect is just stunning - particularly as the culmination of the whole experience. The whole thing is moving and fabulously beautiful.
The performance is superb, as one would expect from the Tallis Scholars who are now firmly established as one of the very greatest ensembles in this repertoire. Their trademark brilliance of sound, perfect tuning, clarity and fluency of line, lovely blend and wonderful feel for the text are all well in evidence. The sound they make is simply lovely, and the combination of magnificent music and superlative performance make this something really special, I think
The recording (in the perfect acoustic of Merton College Chapel in Oxford) is excellent, the notes are very interesting and the whole thing is beautifully packaged. I have been a fan of the Tallis Scholars for many, many years now and own virtually all their recordings. This is one of their best - which is really saying something. Very warmly recommended."
Tallis Scholars and Victoria
Bruce A. Mcdonald | Ft. Worth, TX USA | 06/15/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Tallis Scholars have long been noted for their purity of tone but sometimes criticized for lack of personal involvement; this was true of their recording of Victoria's great TENEBRAE RESPONSES. They have corrected this problem in their recent recording of the LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH by the great Spanish composer. These performances
are excellent and very gripping, as they should be. The inclusion of the set of LAMENTATIONS by the Spanish-cum-Mexican composer Juan Gutierrez de Padilla is also good, although I think the Westminster Cathedral recording of that particular work is better. Still, this is a fine work, guaranteed to give much pleasure, particularly to those of us who love Victoria's superb music.
"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1