Hieronymus Praetorius: Motets in 8, 10, 12, 16 & 20 Parts

Hieronymus Praetorius: Motets in 8, 10, 12, 16 & 20 Parts

Regular price £16.99
Total playing time [100:25]

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Alamire
His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts
Stephen Farr (organ)
David Skinner (director)

The large-scale works of Hieronymus Praetorius (1560–1629) owe much to the great polychoral tradition mastered by Hans Leo Hassler and the great Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrieli. Hieronymus does not disappoint with his vivid expression of texts, intricate counterpoint, and sumptuously sonorous and inventive harmonies: this is Northern Germany’s noble response to the Italians, and to the Roman Counter-Reformation.

The programme displays his creativity and ingenuity across a number of compositional forms, from the grand polychoral works (performed here with various combinations of cornetts and sackbuts with organ continuo) solo choir and instrumental items, to plainchant alternatim featuring the great historical organ at Denmark’s Roskilde Cathedral.

This is the first release on the new Inventa Records label - both a specialist early music label and new home for the award-winning consort Alamire.

Album Booklet (PDF)

Tracklist

DISC ONE

1. Dixit Dominus a12

2. Nunc dimittis a8

3. Sequentia: Grates nunc omnes

4. Angelus ad pastores ait a12

5. Ecce Dominus veniet a8

6. Decantabat populus a20

7. Kyrie summum

8. Gloria summum


DISC TWO

1. Laudate Dominum a8

2. Sanctus summum

3. Agnus Dei summum

4. Iubilate Deo a12

5. Ecce quam bonum a8

6. Levavi oculos meos a10

7. Sequentia: Victimae paschali laudes

8. Exultate iusti a16

'The largest motet, Decantabat populus a 20 is a text about singing praises. Despite grand forces and wide vocal ranges, the textures avoid heaviness through use of word-rhythms and sprightly polychoral exchanges […] I love the warm, unhurried grandeur His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts bring to this performance, and they are well balanced with the superb singers of Alamire'

- Gramophone

'The largest motet, Decantabat populus a 20 is a text about singing praises. Despite grand forces and wide vocal ranges, the textures avoid heaviness through use of word-rhythms and sprightly polychoral exchanges […] I love the warm, unhurried grandeur His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts bring to this performance, and they are well balanced with the superb singers of Alamire'
Gramophone

'All the interlocking elements of vocal and instrumental ‘choirs’ are balanced with exceptional skill'
BBC Music Magazine

'Voices and instruments are heard separately and, most thrillingly, together. Skinner plays with texture, interweaving brass and voices in the arresting opening Dixit Dominus and, to lighter more agile effect, in the exhilarating dance Iubilate Deo. But it’s the mighty 20-part Decantabat Populus that is most striking.'
Limelight

'The choral singing is outstanding, as is the direction of David Skinner and playing of the 10 members of His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts. Skinner takes appropriate speeds, allowing the music to speak into the acoustic without blurring the underlying polyphony. '
Early Music Reviews

'The performances are of course excellent'
Early Music Review

'These large scale choral works in these brilliant recordings transport the listener back to a different age and into another dimension. There is much variety here as different forces and compositional styles feature throughout. A very enjoyable collection.'
Lark Reviews

Credits
Inventa Records
© 2019 Resonus Limited
Ⓟ 2019 Resonus Limited & Alamire
Catalogue No. INV001
Producers: Adam Binks & Nigel Short
Engineers: Adam Binks & Viggo Mangor
Executive Producers: Adam Binks & David Skinner
EAN: 5060262791479
Cover image: Ecce Homo by Follower of Dirck Bouts (c. 1415–1475)
Release date: 31 May 2019