PALESTRINA Missa Papae Marcelli
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Giovanni Palestrina
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Magazine Review Date: 10/2016
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 64
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 479 6131

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Missa Papae Marcelli |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Ad te Levavi Oculos Meos |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Ave Maria |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Benedixisti Domine |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Confirma hoc Deus |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Confitemi Domino |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Jubilate Deo |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Tu es pastor ovium |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Veritas mea et misericordia mea |
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer
Giovanni Palestrina, Composer Massimo Palombella, Conductor Sistine Chapel Choir |
Author: Edward Breen
Previously, on last year’s album ‘Cantate Domino’, I found the Sistine Chapel Choir reminiscent of Westminster Cathedral Choir under George Malcolm. This new recording is different, partly due to the broader style of the Mass, and partly due to a cleaner, less mannered performance from the choir. The clarity previously employed only in Lassus’s Magnificat is found throughout Missa Papae Marcelli with delightful results. However, less convincing are several speed-changes that colour this performance. Palombella boldy flies in the face of prevailing performance styles with several changes of tactus, argued on the basis of notational evidence; but, coupled with cumbersome ritardandos, these often sound overly manicured. At the start of the Gloria, for instance, tempo shifts close together at both ‘Adoramus te’ and ‘Gratias agimus tibi’ make for an unexpectedly fussy texture.
The motets, which follow the Mass, contain four premiere recordings and continue the broad, solid vocal sound of the Mass. This is what Palombella calls the ‘basilican’ sound, modelled on the original St Peter’s Basilica, whose vaults the choir once filled. At the end of the album the choir move from their usual recording position in front of the altar to the famous choir gallery for the Ave Maria. In this last motet they also use falsettist countertenors, whose tone noticeably lightens the overall texture and helps to find a more intimate quality. This result is fascinating: the sheer sense of height and depth of the building is considerably enhanced and suddenly the polyphony is soft-focus.
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