innovative repertoire, performed superbly
Subtitled “Renaissance and Contemporary Choral Works,” this disc follows on from the choral ensemble luminatus’ O beata Virgo Maria, reviewed previously by William Kempster in Fanfare 48:1. I agree wholeheartedly with my colleague about the standard of the choir. The recording space (St Mary’s, Woburn) seems quite tight here, so I do wonder if the recording locales are … Read more
Love Divine features music by Phillipe de Monte, drawing on a motet by Cipriano de Rore. Musical material is embedded throughout this parody mass, which reflects a mature and assured mastery of counterpoint. The disc goes on to explore two composers featured by luminatus vocal ensemble in concerts this year. Tiburtio Massaino and Ippolito Baccusi. … Read more
Massaino was probably born in Cremona around 1550. Little else is known about the Massaino family, except that he had a brother named Luke, who was head of the Venetian soldiers in Crete. Massaino entered the Augustinian order of the Aelongsian Eremitani, probably in the Piacenza convent of Santa Lorenzo. By 1571 he was in … Read more
Our new CD, O Beata Virgo Maria, features previously unrecorded music by Tiburtio Massaino, Francesco Guerrero, Cecilia McDowall, Melissa Dunphy and Kerensa Briggs.
Much of the repertoire has a Marian theme and includes a setting of O Beata Virgo Maria by Massaino. This is in six sections, with shifts in vocal forces, texture and style. It is based on an original text by Fulbert of Chartres. You can see a glimpse of the first section here: