Pro Cantione Antiqua – Alto CD

Palestrina: Lamentations of Jeremiah, Book IV

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:39:58 +0000

“The present, 4th setting was discovered only in the 19th Century, and is recorded here complete for the first time….serene but poignant simplicity which Bruno Turner captures admirably with spacious tempi .. the quality of the singing from a group of eight is of a high order. So is the recording.” (Penguin Guide 3 stars)

Feria V. in Coena Domini

Lectio I 7.14
Lectio II 8.28
Lectio III 9.28

Feria in Parasceve

Lectio I 8:48
Lectio II 9:08
Lectio III 6.55

Sabbato Sancto

Lectio I 10:00
Lectio II 6:53
Lectio III 7.03

Palestrina Missa Brevis & Missa Lauda Sion, 2 Motets

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:39:14 +0000

“Lauda Sion is, in Pro Cantione Antiqua’s sober and elegant account, hardly less beautiful than the Brevis…slightly plangent countertenor complements the minor inflexions of this major-mode work….but there is nothing tentative in the delivery. The final Agnus is especially beautiful with its added voice in the middle. Further recordings of this work are unlikely to displace this all-male, solo-voice approach… The plainchant relevant to each Mass is beautifully rendered and unobtrusive, and the recording has a full presence whilst not too close.” (Gramophone)

Missa Brevis:

[1] Introitus: Puer natus est nobis 2:28
[2] Kyrie 2:35
[3] Gloria 2:56
[4] Graduale: Viderunt omnes 3:30
[5] Credo 5:17
[6] Offertorium: Tui sunt coeli 1:11
[7] Sanctus 1:40
[8] Benedictus 2:06
[9] Communio: Viderunt omnes 0:27
[10] Agnus Dei 5:09

Missa Lauda Sion:

[11] Introitus: Cibavit eos 2:31
[12] Kyrie 2:03
[13] Gloria 3:12
[14] Graduale: Oculi omnium 3:02
[15] Credo 5:26
[16] Offertorium: Sacerdotes Dominio 1:19
[17] Sanctus 1:52
[18] Benedictus 2:34
[19] Communio: Quotiescumque manducabitis 1:28
[20] Agnus Dei 4:57
[21] Motet: Super flumina Babylonis 4:00
[22] Motet: Sicut cervus 5:52

Schütz: Great Motets

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:37:19 +0000

Three stars — “An eminently useful and well-recorded super bargain of Schutz motets, which offers such masterpieces… in well thought-out and carefully planned performances under Edgar Fleet [with] dignity and warmth. … [T]he sound is rich and clear.”
— Penguin Guide

The wide repertoire of the internationally acclaimed London-based Pro Cantione Antiqua includes many works by Heinrich Schütz, whose music straddles the Renaissance and baroque styles. This collection of Schütz’s motets, recorded between 1979 and 1983, is accompanied by the English Consort of Viols, the Restoration Academy, the London Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble and organist Bradford Tracey. The result: lively, dramatic preformances highlighting the polyphonic mastery and beauty of Schütz’s music.

• The grandeur of early Baroque polyphony, sung by one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, accompanied by leading period instrument players
• Premium quality at super-value price

Lassus: Requiem / Music for Easter Sunday

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:37:19 +0000

3 Stars! “Includ[es] the glorious Aurora lucis rutilat for two 5-part choirs, and the Magnificat, based on the motet, plus Mark Brown’s fine performance of the 4-part Requiem.”
— Penguin Guide“Extraordinary range of musical effects… from pure homophony, sometimes spiced with plangent dissonance, to counterpoint of some complexity. … The four voices blend well and produce a rich and vibrant tone. Speeds [are] well chosen, stately and consistent, a
nd this combined with small voices allows the detail of the music to be heard with admirable clarity. … Each singer, and how expert they are, [are] firmly positioned and spaced between the loudspeakers.”
— Gramophone

An acclaimed Hyperion recording of early polyphonic masterpieces returns – at an unbeatable value price!

Gregorian Feast: Chants for Festive Days

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:37:18 +0000

Gregorian Feast: Chants for Festive Days Mark Brown / Pro Cantione Antiqua Catalog Number: ALC 1117 Number of Discs: CD Released: January 2011

Traditional Glees & Madrigals

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:36:57 +0000

“No trace of exaggeration here and the sense of fun is well calculated to tickle the audience, not just the singers. Such an expert group might be tempted to play it too cool, but they are in the capable hands of Mark Brown who …makes sure that points are not missed. … Excellent results.”
— Gramophone

This new collection, compiled from outstanding recordings by Engleand’s renowned Pro Cantione Antiqua, new collection to showcase traditional Glees to the growing young market of singing and glee clubs, takes a fascinating look at the traditional glee (from which “glee clubs” get their name) and its roots in secular madrigals.

Madrigals

1: Hark All Ye Lovely Saints (Thomas Weelkes) 3:08
2: Though Amaryllis Dance (William Byrd) 2:05
3: Fyer, Fyer (Thomas Morley) 4:01
4: Sweet Suffolk Owl (Thomas Vautor) 2:08
5: April Is In My Mistress’ Face (Thomas Morley) 1:17
6: Music Divine (Thomas Tomkins) 3:58
7: Come, Gentle Swains (Michael Cavendish) 1:39
8: My Bonny Lass She Smileth (Thomas Morley) 1:57
9: Ah, Dear Heart (Orlando Gibbons) 1:44
10: Thus Sings My Dearest Jewel (Thomas Weelkes) 1:12
11: Sleep, Fleshly Birth (Robert Ramsey) 5:39
12: O That The Learned Poets (Orlando Gibbons) 2:41

Glees

13: Foresters Sound The Cheerful Horn (Henry Bishop) 1:47
14: Epitaph On A Dormouse (Benjamin Cooke) 2:36
15: Strike The Lyre (Thomas Cooke) 5:30
16: The Goslings (J: Frederick Bridge) 2:04
17: Two Snails (Bridge) 2:23
18: Come Let Us Join The Roundelay (William Beale) 1:42
19: Breathe Soft, Ye Winds (William Paxton) 1:37
20: Sweet and Low (Joseph Barnby) 2:52
21: There Is A Paradise On Earth (R. L. de Pearsall) 2:39
22: Who Will O’er The Downs So Free (de Pearsall) 1:48
23: Waters Of Elle (de Pearsall) 2:32
24: The Kiss (Barnby) 2:24
25: The Squirrel (George T. Smart) 3:49
26: As Torrents In Summer (Sir Edward Elgar) 2:00
27: The Long Day Closes (Sir Arthur Sullivan) 3:49

Allegri: Miserere / Renaissance Polyphony and Consort Songs

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:36:36 +0000

“No need to emphasise the pathos … which blooms out unaided. Comparison with other recordings… seems quite pointless. This very handsomely occupies a niche of its own.”
— Gramophone (review of Palestrina: Stabat Mater)

Allegri’s most popular work – a world-class performance – at a super-value price

English Madrigals from the Oxford University Press Book of English Madrigals

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:35:51 +0000

Twenty-two of the most popular English madrigals sung by the incomparable Pro Cantione Antiqua and friends under the direction of master vocal director Philip Ledger.

[1] John Wilbye: Flora gave me fairest flowers (1:17)
[2] Thomas Weelkes: O care, thou wilt dispatch me (4:09)
[3] Thomas Greaves: Come away, sweet love (1:29)
[4] John Wilbye: Draw on sweet night (4:52)
[5] John Farmer: Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone (1:37)
[6] William Byrd: Lullaby, my sweet little baby (4:24)
[7] Thomas Tomkins: O yes! Has any found a lad? (1:50)
[8] Giles Farnaby: Construe my meaning (1:37)
[9] John Wilbye: Adieu, sweet Amaryllis (2:11)
[10] Thomas Morley: Now is the month of Maying (1:58)
[11] Orlando Gibbons: The silver swan (1:22)
[12] George Kirbye: See what a maze of error (1:47)
[13] Thomas Tomkins: Too much I once lamented (5:54)
[14] John Wilbye: Weep, weep, mine eyes (4:22)
[15] Thomas Morley: Sing we and chant it (1:45)
[16] Orlando Gibbons: What is our life? (4:09)
[17] Thomas Weelkes: Sing we at pleasure (1:59)
[18] John Ward: Out from the vale of deep despair (3:38)
[19] John Bennet: Weep O mine eyes (2:16)
[20] Michael East: Quick, quick away dispatch (3:12)
[21] Thomas Bateson: Those sweet delightful lilies (2:29)
[22] John Wilbye : Sweet honey-sucking bees (4:27)

Pro Cantione Antiqua
Paul Esswood, Simon Gay and Kevin Smith, countertenors
James Griffett and Ian Partridge, tenors
Brian Etheridge, Stephen Roberts and David Thomas, basses
with Rosemary Hardy, Elizabeth Lane and Mary Thomas, sopranos
Philip Ledger, director

Time: 64:35
Recorded in 1979 under the auspices of Oxford University Press

Medieval Christmas

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:35:49 +0000

“A spicy Christmas feast, from a time when classic and folk music mixed. There was little difference in the popular music of the church or the tavern! Often more Chaucer than Christian… A lively record to sit back and enjoy! The attraction of the melodies and especially the exciting rhythms of Medieval music has influenced composers like Vaughan Williams and popular icons such as Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull. Many pieces are as popular today as they were centuries ago.”
– James Griffett

32 tracks including:

This Yol (anon. England 14/15c.)
Synge we to thys mery companye (anon. England 15c)
Orientis partibus (Song of the Ass, anon. France 13c)
Goday my Lord Sir Christemasse (anon. England 15c)
Danse real (anon. France 13c)
Ther ys no rose (anon. England 15c)
Nowel, synge we (anon. England 15c)
Nowel, owt of your slepe (anon. England 15c)
Hail Mary (anon. England 15c)
Beata viscera (Perotin)
Graduale: Viderunt Omnea (In Nativitate Domini Advertiam Missam, Gregorian Chant)
Portugaler (anon. France 14/15c)
Angelus ad Virginem
Nova, nova (anon. England 15c)