Palestrina: Missa Aeterna Christi Munera

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
If you're looking for one disc that most generously opens the door to Palestrina's art, this one from the Choir of Westminster Cathedral would be an excellent choice. Here are top-notch performances of several of his finest motets, among them "Sicut Cervus," "Super Flumina Babylonis," and, from the collection Canticum Canticorum (Song of Songs), "Quae Es Ista" and "Duo Ubera Tua." The mass Aeterna Christi Munera is an outstanding example of Palestrina's ability to create a work of sublime beauty with astonishing economy of materials. The pure, warmly resonant treble voices of the Westminster choir suit Palestrina's gently flowing lines especially well, preserving a perfect ensemble balance even in the brilliant upper-register passages. --David Vernier

Tracks:

Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei

Amazon.com

There's a wonderful legend, retold by (among others) Pfitzner's opera Palestrina, attached to the "Pope Marcellus" Mass: the Council of Trent, ground zero of the Counter Reformation, was about to ban all music but chant from the liturgy when Palestrina submitted this Mass, thereby changing the prelates' minds and saving church music. The writing is beautiful enough to deserve such a story: cheerful yet devout, comprehensible but not simplistic, without the complexity and secular borrowings (very prevalent in the preceding decades) that so perturbed the Council. The Missa Papae Marcelli has been recorded by choirs from Westminster Abbey to the Tallis Scholars, yet the Oxford Camerata does itself proud: Jeremy Summerly's reading of the music is reverently sweet, yet he's not afraid to make a joyful noise when appropriate--and the various voices are unusually clear. The equally radiant Missa Aeterna Christi Munera gets a similarly pleasing performance. Amidst serious competition, Summerly's readings of these Masses are among the best available--and, at Naxos's superbudget price, definitely the best value. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Something familiar, something new.......2005-10-19

--Palestrina--
Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina is sometimes called the greatest composer of the Roman Catholic church. Born in 1525 near Rome, he spent the better part of his career in service to the church as a choir member, choir master, conductor, composer and school master. He was sought after by many churches, and sometimes his popularity and skill got him into trouble both with his clerical patrons and with fellow musicians. He was offered prestigious positions in Rome and Vienna which were ultimately withdrawn because Palestrina's salary and conditions requirements were too high. He had some influence on the Council of Trent's musical decisions for reform of the Catholic worship practices, and was involved intimately with revising the Gradual and produced a harmonised version of the Latin Hymnal in 1589. He died in 1594.

--Masses--
The first mass presented here is Missa Papae Marcelli. Written in the 1550s, it wasn't published until the next decade. Pope Marcellus was only pope for a few weeks, but managed to endear himself to composers and conductors by insisting upon clarity as the highest of virtues for choristers. There is a joy to this, as Palestrina is definitely in the mode of celebrating the life of Pope Marcellus. This is one of Palestrina's most recorded works.

The second mass, Missa Aeterna Christi Munera is likewise a strong composition, although it is much less known than the first. Palestrina wrote over 100 masses in his lifetime (in addition to a wide range of other pieces), so it is not surprising that there might be some relatively overlooked. This particular mass has a more solemn tone to it, but still soars magnificently, and has no real flaws in composition.

--Oxford Camerata and Jeremy Summerly--
The performance of both of these pieces is superb. Perhaps the better performance belongs to the second mass; the Camerata has twelve singers, who double on the six-voice Missa Papae Marcelli, but are able to triple on the four-voice Missa Aeterna Christi Munera. They play with tempo and expression in new ways. The Oxford Camerata was formed in the early 1990s under the direction of Jeremy Summerly - this disc is their second recording. (Legend has it there was a cement mixer just outside the Dorchester Abbey, and that the recording engineers missed the first session for recording due to car trouble.)

Summerly's direction and selection of material and interpretation is such that it bears watching in the future.

Palestrina's a giant in renaissance counterpoint.......2005-10-14

Beautifully performed CD of 2 beautiful Masses written by G. Palestrina. Worth listening to and adding to album collection. Palestrina definitely is unsurpassed in Renaissance Counterpoint and is rightfully called the Prince of Music.

Outstanding - music of the spheres........2005-10-12

I've sung much renaissance polyphony, especially Palestrina, and this is about as good as recording gets. The musicality of the entire album, the perfect blend of voices (as well as a the utterly exquisite quality of that of the second tenor) and the perfection of the composition are all factors which contribute to something nonetheless mysteriously holy and beautiful about this recording; maybe what the music was really meant to be.

Palestrina's Masses...I love them all..........2004-11-18

I don't think is a good idea to compare composers
from three different musical periods; because of
their different mentalities, different cultures,
and different resources at their disposal...The
Missa Papae Marcelli is of interest because is
one of the earliest works to challange the regulations
in music of the Counter-Reformation; but yet in
other aspects it stays very close to what was expected
of Palestrina...Of special interest of the
Missa Papae Marcelli is the Mass'Gloria....
The Missa Aeterna...is a work that is based
on a motet a procedure that at the time
was a "BIG NO, NO" to the Counter-Reformation
movement...As all of the Palestrina Masses these
works are all full of beauty and serenity...
Oxford Camerata does a wonderful job....

Not just a bargain disc..........2001-03-12

This disc might actually make a good Palestrina sampler, of sorts - at least a good sampler of his masses. The Pope Marcellus Mass is probably his best known mass, and both this mass and the Missa Aeterna Christi Munera are models of elegance and serenity. The latter piece is not recorded very often, so you would be advised to pick up this disc, which contains both of these splendid pieces.

Normally in a review like this I would give some contextual/historical information about the pieces, but Palestrina and his Missa Papae Marcelli probably need little of this. It is often pointed out that this mass was written partly as model for textual intelligibility in polyphonic music; it is, though, even more than that: it is a model for perfection in Renaissance form.

I have three other recordings of the Marcellus Mass - two are by the Tallis scholars (one on the Palestrina 400 collection and the other on another separate recording) and one is by a German Baroque choir that I can't and won't take the time to remember (the recording isn't very good). Of the two T. Scholars recordings, the one on the 400 collection is preferable for its tempo, the other for the better acoustics of the recording venue. Both are fine recordings - typical Tallis Scholars. I haven't heard the Voices of Ascension or Westminster Choir recordings of this mass, but they are probably good.

I would recommend this present recording over the T. Scholars ones, though, for different reasons. First, the acoustics are preferable - there's more resonance in this one. The most importance difference is not really in interpretation (both groups render the music as flowing smoothly and slowly) but in the choral sound. Summerly's choir simply sounds fuller. For all their precision, the Tallis Scholars recordings sound thin - their sound lacks body, compared to the Oxford Camerata, although the former does seem to carry with it, as I said, the singular advantage of linear precision. In any case, the Oxford group sounds less pinched and more full-voiced.

Tracks:

Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Stabat Mater - Jeremy Summerly
Miserere

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful!.......2004-06-22

Exquisite! The choir is resonant and beautifully blended, with a sweet line throughout the MISSA PAPAE MARCELLI. This recording is an ideal introduction to Italian Renaissance polyphony, as it was for me. Beautiful music, a nice combination of pieces, a ravishingly beautiful choir - and at this price, how can you go wrong? Hooray for Naxos!

Overall Excellence.......2003-04-21

The Missa Papae Marcelli and Missa Aeterna Christi munera are both excellent.

The whole of the Pope Marcellus Mass is a model of artfully managed simplicity; it is a glorious sound -- the Kyrie and the Sanctus especially are wonderfully serene and ethereal.

The other Mass is fine, too; a bit more rythmic activity, something more of the jauntiness of the madrigal, than the monumental Pope Marcellus Mass, but all the same, a lovely piece, and well sung here.

The Oxford Camerata here have a lovely, warm sound, very nicely blended; there is excellent rhythm in the ensemble, as well.

The Stabat mater is an exquisite work, one of those unnecessarily well-kept secrets; a fantastic piece which is marvelously suited to Holy Week observances (he writes, in Eastertide ....)

The Allegri Miserere is beautiful, as well. I have both this, and the Tallis Scholars; I don't want to get into the "this one is better than the other" swamp ... they have somewhat different characters, much as two people have different tones of voice, and yet both voices may be perfectly pleasant. The high soprano in the figure which is the trademark of the Allegri, has good control; I have an idea that the corresponding singer in the Tallis Scholars recording may be a little "rounder," a little more covered in tone. But as I say, both are fine, and wondrously musical.

Listen to this if you're unfamiliar with Palestrina.......2001-03-13

This disc seems to be a great introduction to the music of Palestrina. Missa Papae Marcelli is definitely the highlight. The choral artistry is exquisite on this work and also on the Missa Aeterna Christi Munera. The Stabat Mater doesn't seem too bad, either. I have heard better recordings of Allegri's Miserere, however. Richard Marlow and the Cambridge Trinity College Choir do a fabulous job with this work on their double set entitled "Choral Moods."

Palestrina: Missa Aeterna Christi Munera

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Palestrina: Missa Aeterna Christi Munera

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Chants | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Magnificats | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
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Tomas Luis de Victoria: Missa 'Vidi Speciosam'
Victoria: O Magnum Mysterium; Ascendens Christus in altum
O Quam Gloriosum

ASIN: B000002ZPG
Release Date: 1993-11-19

Tracks:

Palestrina: Aeterna Christi munera - Hymn
Palestrina: Kyrie
Palestrina: Gloria
Palestrina: Credo
Palestrina: Sanctus And Benedictus
Palestrina: Agnus Dei I And Agnus Dei II
Palestrina: Sicut cervus desiderat
Palestrina: Super flumina Babylonis
Palestrina: Vidi turbam magnam
Palestrina: Quae est ista
Palestrina: Duo ubera tua
Palestrina: Nigra sum, sed formosa
Palestrina: Surge, amica mea
Palestrina: Magnificat Primi Toni

Amazon.com

If you're looking for one disc that most generously opens the door to Palestrina's art, this one from the Choir of Westminster Cathedral would be an excellent choice. Here are top-notch performances of several of his finest motets, among them "Sicut Cervus," "Super Flumina Babylonis," and, from the collection Canticum Canticorum (Song of Songs), "Quae Es Ista" and "Duo Ubera Tua." The mass Aeterna Christi Munera is an outstanding example of Palestrina's ability to create a work of sublime beauty with astonishing economy of materials. The pure, warmly resonant treble voices of the Westminster choir suit Palestrina's gently flowing lines especially well, preserving a perfect ensemble balance even in the brilliant upper-register passages. --David Vernier

Average customer rating:

Excellent and Beautiful Music, Truly

Sanctus: Meditation for the Soul

Manufacturer: Archiv Produktion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000057FQ
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Tracks:

Sanctus (Missa pro defunctis)
Sanctus (Mass For St. Anthony Of Padua)
Sanctus (Missa 'Aeterna Christi munera')
Sanctus (Missa 'Dum complerentur')
Sanctus (Mass For Three Voices)
Sanctus (Missa 'Tu es Petrus')
Sanctus (Missa 'Vidi speriosam')
Sanctus (Missa 'Papae Marcelli')
Sanctus (Missa 'L'homme arme')
Sanctus (Missa 'Mille regretz')
Sanctus (Missa 'L'homme arme super voces musicales')
Sanctus (Missa 'Hodie Christus natus est')
Sanctus (Missa 'In illo tempore')

Customer Reviews:

Excellent and Beautiful Music, Truly.......2000-07-16

Despite the absolute beauty and sublime texture of most of the tracks, a few of the longer pieces tend to drag on the ears as they progress.

That said, I will reiterate that the majority of songs on this CD are magnificent and merit the purchase of this disc. Of particular interest are Tracks 1 and 8. Victoria (Vittoria) has always been my favorite composer of mysteries, motets and such, and the Sanctus from Missa pro Defunctis is one of the most emotional, deeply spiritual and reflective, almost pensive, peices of his I've heard.

Palestrina, not to be outdone, and in stark contrast to Victoria, provides a joyous, light but no less sacred peices.

Tracks:

Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Kyrie
Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Gloria
Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Credo
Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Sanctus
Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Agnus Primo
Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Agnus Secondo
Mottetti: Alma Redemptoris Mater
Mottetti: Super Flumina
Mottetti: Sicut Cervus
Mottetti: Dies Santificatus
Mottetti: O Bone Jesu
Missa Brevis: Kyrie
Missa Brevis: Gloria
Missa Brevis: Credo
Missa Brevis: Sanctus
Missa Brevis: Agnus Primo
Missa Brevis: Agnus Secondo

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Easter Day Mass

Manufacturer: Paraclete Press
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003XF8
Release Date: 1996-03-19

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Palestrina: Missa Aeterna Christi Munera
Palestrina , Brown , and Pro Cantione Antiqua
Manufacturer: Innov. Music Prod.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00004YR20
Release Date: 1995-01-24

Average customer rating:

Wonderful!

Cantores in Ecclesia in Rome

Manufacturer: North Pacific Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Kyrie & Gloria
Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Sicut Cervus
Missa Aeterna Christi Munera: Super Flumina Babylonis
Missa O Quam Gloriosum: Kyrie
Missa O Quam Gloriosum: Sanctus
Missa O Quam Gloriosum: Benedictus
Missa O Quam Gloriosum: Agnus Dei
Mass For Five Voices: Kyrie
Mass For Five Voices: Agnus Dei
Mass For Five Voices: Justorum Animae
Mass For Five Voices: Vigilate
Os Justi Meditabitur
Si Iniquitates
Bogoroditse Devo
Ave Verum Corpus
Ubi Caritas

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful!.......1999-11-03

This recording contains some of the greatest pieces from the choral repertiore. It has literally changed my life! I now realize how beautiful this music can be! It is absolutely marvelous! The choir has such a rich, full sound - one which should be imitated by others. Besides, this is one of the few recordings of Wesley's "Si Iniquitates." It'll blow you away!