Victoria - Officium Defunctorum (Office of the Dead)

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Tomás Luís de Victoria's Officium Defunctorum (a.k.a. Requiem) has become enough of a sacred music warhorse to make a jaded reviewer groan, "Not again!" What's more, the work's popularity has skewed the modern public's view of Victoria, giving him a reputation for dark and intense Iberian mysticism when his contemporaries considered him a basically joyous composer (see, for example, the Mass and motet O quam gloriosum). Yet with a well-judged crescendo on the very first chord of the disc, Philip Cave and his choir grab your attention and won't let go. Magnificat performs the Requiem even more cleanly and precisely than do the famously immaculate Tallis Scholars--yet with a warmth and dynamic subtlety the more famous group sometimes lacks. (As it happens, Cave is a Tallis Scholar himself; his singers work regularly with the Sixteen, the Gabrieli Consort, and the like.) Most strikingly, the choir's sound has a dulcet glow that seems to link the Requiem directly with Victoria's more cheerful music. Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli Consort bring out more of the Requiem's drama and intensity (and a better idea of how Victoria intended it to be used), but Magnificat's performance, like no other, captures its sweetness and light. --Matthew Westphal

Victoria - Officium Defunctorum (Office of the Dead), Music, Victoria, Philip Cave, Magnificat, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Vocals
Victoria - Officium Defunctorum (Office of the Dead)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Victoria - Officium Defunctorum (Office of the Dead)
    Victoria , Philip Cave , and Magnificat
    Manufacturer: Linn Records
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    Sacred & ReligiousSacred & Religious | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    MassesMasses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    Renaissance (c.1450-1600)Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    ASIN: B00002Z841
    Release Date: 1999-11-16

    Tracks:

    1. Taedet Animam Meam
    2. Ego Sum Resurrectio
    3. Benedictus Dominus Deus
    4. Introitus: Requiem Aeternam
    5. Kyrie Eleison
    6. Graduale: Requiem Aeternam
    7. Offertorium: Domine Iesu Christe
    8. Sanctus: Benedictus
    9. Agnus Dei
    10. Communio: Lux Aeterna
    11. Motectum: Versa Est In Luctum
    12. Absolutio: Libera Me

    Amazon.com

    Tomás Luís de Victoria's Officium Defunctorum (a.k.a. Requiem) has become enough of a sacred music warhorse to make a jaded reviewer groan, "Not again!" What's more, the work's popularity has skewed the modern public's view of Victoria, giving him a reputation for dark and intense Iberian mysticism when his contemporaries considered him a basically joyous composer (see, for example, the Mass and motet O quam gloriosum). Yet with a well-judged crescendo on the very first chord of the disc, Philip Cave and his choir grab your attention and won't let go. Magnificat performs the Requiem even more cleanly and precisely than do the famously immaculate Tallis Scholars--yet with a warmth and dynamic subtlety the more famous group sometimes lacks. (As it happens, Cave is a Tallis Scholar himself; his singers work regularly with the Sixteen, the Gabrieli Consort, and the like.) Most strikingly, the choir's sound has a dulcet glow that seems to link the Requiem directly with Victoria's more cheerful music. Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli Consort bring out more of the Requiem's drama and intensity (and a better idea of how Victoria intended it to be used), but Magnificat's performance, like no other, captures its sweetness and light. --Matthew Westphal
    Victoria: Requiem - Officium defunctorum (1605) / McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • totally grew on me
    • El mejor de los Requiem Renacentistas Hispanos
    • Great Singing, Annoying Format and Recording Job
    • Haunting...stunningly beautiful singing.
    • Excellent
    		 Victoria: Requiem - Officium defunctorum (1605) / McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort
    Tomás Luis de Victoria , Paul McCreesh , and Gabrieli Consort
    Manufacturer: Polygram Records
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    Sacred & ReligiousSacred & Religious | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
    McCreesh, PaulMcCreesh, Paul | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    MassesMasses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    Renaissance (c.1450-1600)Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    Similar Items:
    1. Morales: Mass for the Feast of St. Isidore of Seville
    2. O Quam Gloriosum
    3. A Venetian Coronation 1595
    4. Giovanni Gabrieli: Music For San Rocco
    5. Mass for Christmas Morning

    ASIN: B0000057F2
    Release Date: 2005-03-21

    Tracks:

    1. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Lectio II ad Matutinum: Taedet animam meam
    2. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Introitus: Requiem aeternam
    3. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Kyrie
    4. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Oratorio
    5. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Epistola
    6. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Graduale: Requiem aeternam
    7. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Tractus: Absolve, Dominine
    8. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Sequentia: Dies irae
    9. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Evangelium
    10. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Offerorium: Domine Iesu Christe
    11. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Prefatio
    12. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Sanctus
    13. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Benedictus
    14. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Pater noster
    15. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Agnus Dei
    16. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Communio: Lux aeterna
    17. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Postcommunio
    18. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Motectum: Versa est in luctum
    19. Requiem: Officium defunctorum: Absolutio: Libera me, Domine

    Amazon.com essential recording

    Victoria's famous Requiem, fully titled Officium defunctorum ("Office for the Dead"), published in 1605, was composed for the funeral of the Dowager Empress Maria (daughter of Charles V, sister of Philip II, wife of Emperor Maximilian) in 1603 in Madrid. Paul McCreesh's recording aims to re-create that service, with prayers and chants (including the well-known Dies irae, not set by Victoria) in their liturgical sequence. This alternation of chant and polyphony gives a good idea--better than would Victoria's polyphony alone--of just how solemn and sumptuous the Empress's funeral was. This wouldn't matter, of course, if the Gabrieli Consort's performance of this bewitchingly melancholy music were anything less than excellent. It's that and more--as the music progresses, the singing becomes more involved and intense; by the time the Sanctus arrives, it is transcendent. --Matthew Westphal

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars totally grew on me.......2006-01-13

    At first I didn't like this recording much because I thought the chants were boring & got in the way of the music, but now they're not so bad. If you like the Tallis Scholars, Orlando Consort or the Sixteen you'll probably like this recording since a few members of the choir on this disc also record with them (Donald Grieg, Robert Harre-Jones, ,Timothy Wilson, Angus Smith, Robert Evans, Francis Steele). The chants, etc don't detract so much from this recording as I first thought; I think I prefer it with them now. The parts with actual singing are outstanding; I've heard other recordings with women sopranos/altos/etc & the sound is usually brighter/lighter; this one has an all-male choir which sounds richer & darker. The opening movements (intro, kyrie, etc) are serene & peaceful, and the sanctus/benedictus are very intense. They're too short though! I don't know if they're supposed to be traditionally but I wish Victoria had more lol.

    5 out of 5 stars El mejor de los Requiem Renacentistas Hispanos.......2005-04-03

    Una obra sublime, brillante
    llena del misticismo y el
    fervor Hispanico. Este es
    uno de los mejores "Officium
    Defunctorum" proveniente de Espana.
    Tomas Luis de Victoria es uno
    de los mejores exponentes del arte
    musical sacro, lo que lo hace uno
    los miembros de "La triada Espanola"
    los otros dos compositores son Guerrero
    y Morales. El Requiem de 1603 de Tomas
    Luis de VIctoria fue compuesto para las
    exequias de la emperatriz Maria de Austria.
    En esta grabaccion el director Paul McCreesh
    nos presenta la obra como fue presentada en
    las exequias de la emperatriz, el director
    incluye algunos cantos gregorianos asi como
    lo hizo Victoria en aquel entonces, tal
    practica colabora a completar la liturgia.
    Este es un disco de maxima recomendaccion
    el conjunto Gabrielli Consort hace
    un trabajo formidable...

    4 out of 5 stars Great Singing, Annoying Format and Recording Job.......2002-03-09

    This disc of the "Requiem" contains some of the best singing I have ever heard, and the interpretation of Victoria's music is unmatched for dramatic intensity. However, (and for me these are significant howevers), both the presentation and recording job are problematic. Like many of McCreesh's recordings, this is a reconstruction. If you have never been at a Catholic high Mass in the old style, or are a liturgical historian, it may be interesting, once or twice, to hear the context in which the "Requiem" originally was heard. That being said, though, the ordinary chants, including the chanted readings, are frankly ordinary, utilitarian, tedious, and of minimal musical interest. The one exception here is the "Dies Irae", sung in its entirety. All told, you have to program out about 25% of this disc to listen to just the Victoria music. The other caveat is that for some reason the sibilant sounds, and the t's and p's, are REALLY prominent in the mix. If you've got equipment that can minimize this, you're way ahead, sonically.

    5 out of 5 stars Haunting...stunningly beautiful singing........2002-01-06

    The all male chorus of the Gabrielli Consort under the direction of McCreesh sing with impeccable beauty. The ethereal quality apt for a Requiem setting is perfectly realized conveying effectively a pious reverent quality suitable for this piece.

    4 out of 5 stars Excellent.......2001-03-21

    This is an outstanding recording of some gorgeous polyphony, and the quality of McCreesh's falsettos is sometimes breathtaking, always top-notch. In addition, some of the details of the performance are surprising, especially for listeners brought up on excellent but monochromatic renditions of Renaissance choral music. The low string drone-- which, as far as I can tell, is played on some version of the hurdy-gurdy-- only enhances some of the polyphonic sections, and certainly adds to the interest of most of the monophonic chants. Which brings me to my one caveat: while McCreesh's recontextualizing projects are, with few exceptions, fascinating, I have to admit that when I put this disc on, I almost always skip around to reach the polyphonic tracks. From a musicological point of view, there is nothing to be lost and everything to be gained by recentering the "work" in its likely contemporary musical and liturgical setting. It is, however, always a question of degrees: should one only listen to the work in a chuch? after someone has died? It's silly to ask, I know, but it's just as silly to deny the fact that, for a modern "concert" audience, appreciation of the Missa is going to proceed along different lines. Having said that, I can still recommend this issue with few reservations.
    Victoria: Officium Defunctorum [Germany]
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Victoria: Officium Defunctorum [Germany]
      Escolania & Capella De Musica Montserrat
      Manufacturer: Deutsche Harmonia Mun
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
      ASIN: B0009W4M30
      Release Date: 2005-07-25

      Tracks:

      1. Requiem - I. Introitus: Requiem Aeternam
      2. Requiem - Ii. Kyrie
      3. Requiem - Iii. Graduale: Requiem Aeternam
      4. Requiem - Iv. Offertorium: Domine Jesu Christe
      5. Requiem - V. Sanctus Und Benedictus
      6. Requiem - Vi. Agnus Dei
      7. Requiem - Vii. Communio: Lux Aeterna
      8. Motectum 'Versa Est In Luctum' 6 Vocum
      9. Responsorium 'Libera Me, Domine' 6 Vocum
      10. Lectio Ii: 'Taedet Animam Meam' 4 Vocum
      Victoria Requiem: Officium Defunctorum,1605
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Victoria Requiem: Officium Defunctorum,1605

        Manufacturer: Music Heritage Society, Inc
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD
        ASIN: B000E0DJIQ

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