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Roma Triumphans - Jackson

Roma Triumphans - Jackson

ATMA Classique  SACD22507

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical


Luca Marenzio, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Orazio Benevoli, Giovanni Giorgi, Vincenzo Ugolini

Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (SMAM)
Christopher Jackson (conductor)

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Review by John Miller - March 28, 2008

Atma take us on a journey from the late Renaissance in Rome to the early Baroque, presenting examples of polychoral works in the larger Roman churches. The singers assembled in these churches were the best available, and often composers in their own right. During this period, Rome raised itself from the ashes of the Barbarian conquests to become an even greater centre of the Renaissance than Florence, thanks to the feverish building programmes of Pope Sixtus IV. The musical culture of the city flourished as well, with the institution of the Capella Julia for St Peter's basilica and the Capella Sistina for the eponymous chapel. The large churches of St John the Lateran and Santa Maria di Trastavere also had their own establishments, attracting musicians from all over Europe, including Venice.

It was at St Mark's in Venice where the Gabrielis developed polychoral music, using the two large pulpits on either side of the nave to separate the choirs, thus bringing in a new spatial element to polyphonic sacred music. The Romans, of course, had to best this, and eventually had no less than 10 choirs on platforms around St Peters, each with its own organ. The music on this disc is not quite so spectacular, mostly featuring motets with twelve or eight voices, divided into 3 or 2 choirs respectively. This is the programme:

Marenzio: Motet Super flumina Babylonis - 12 voices, 3 choirs
Marenzio: Motet Lamentabatur Jacob - 12 voices, 3 choirs
Victoria: Motet Lætatus sum - 12 voices, 3 choirs
Palestrina: Motet Laudate pueri - 8 voices, 2 choirs
Palestrina: Motet Jubilate Deo - 8 voices, 2 choirs
Benevoli: Gloria de la Missa Dominus Angeli - 12 voices, 3 choirs
Giorgi: Offertoire Terra Tremuit - 8 voices, 2 choirs, basso continuo
Giorgi: Motet Haec Dies- 8 voices, 2 choirs, basso continuo
Giorgi: Motet Veni Sancte Spiritus- 8 voices, 2 choirs, basso continuo
Ugolini: Motet Beata es Virgo Maria - 12 voices, 3 choirs, basso continuo
Ugolini: Motet Exultate omnes - 12 voices, 3 choirs, basso continuo
Ugolini: Motet Quae est ista - 12 voices, 3 choirs, basso continuo

All of these composers held high office in the major Roman musical institutions and were consumate composers of vocal music. It is fascinating to follow their individual styles , beginning with the 16th century Late Renaissance a capella style (following the Council of Trent's edict forbidding instruments in church), to the more relaxed and florid Early Baroque styles of the early C17th, which incorporated influences from early opera and secular song, as indicated by the appearance of the continuo for organ, theorbo and cello as support for the choirs.

The Canadian group Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (generally know as SMAM) under the leadership of Christopher Jackson have been producing red book CDs of early choral music to considerable acclaim, and it is good to welcome them to SACD. Being historically aware, they of course sing one to a part - highly selected voices, all highly motivated. The pure joy which singing gives to them is immediately apparent. They bring great vitality and energy to these works and their sound is naturally-produced, buoyant and technically assured. These are precisely the characters which contemporary commentators mentioned when first hearing these astonishing works.

Despite their being any number of RBCD recordings of most of these pieces, I found SMAM's readings to be compelling and deeply involving. The recording, in a Quebec church, is warmly resonant but vibrantly immediate. In multichannel it is quite breath-taking, each voice distinct and characterised by its unique timbre, with the choirs arranged across the stage width, multichannel adding 3-D depth. My only regret is that that ATMA and the producers did not have the courage to use the full potential of multichannel and array the choirs around the listening room, reflecting the original spatial disposition. One choir could have been front centre, for example, with the others arrayed along the room sides from front to back. Other polychoral recordings, e.g. of Tallis' 40 part motet have shown that this works splendidly, immersing the listener even more in the music. Those prefering to hear a normal arrangement of choir at the front can listen to the stereo layer - which is excellent in this case.

From the first few notes of Super Flumina, I realised this was a special kind of singing, bringing out the daring innovations of the composers as few others have managed; it has a wonderful freedom, almost extemporising. There is a pervading rhythmic lightness which is often dance-like, drawing you in to the complex entwining of the melody lines. The Baroque pieces are quite operatic and oratorio-style, with soaring solo passages supported by the cello or theorbo, and often sound remarkably like the native-influenced contemporary South American baroque sacred music we have heard on a number of discs.

If your idea of Palestrina or Victoria's sacred music comprises hazy swells of medium-sized choirs echoing around great cathedrals, this is not the disc for you. It is full of life, spirit, invention and fantasy, yet all in the service of devotion - remember that Victoria came from Avila, with the Spanish Inquisition just down the road! So, not for the faint-hearted, but at last polychoral music with beauty, energy and soul. Highly recommended.

Copyright © 2008 John Miller and HRAudio.net

Performance:

Sonics (Stereo):

Sonics (Multichannel):

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Review by John Broggio - October 28, 2008

A wonderful disc of music for many choruses from times long since past.

Unlike many collections of this period of music (roughly 1550-1750, although the more "modern" pieces are quite conservative for their time), the pieces here are all composed for 2 or more choirs and many also are accompanied by a continuo. What is a constant here is that the singing (and when called upon) playing is of an inspirational standard that transports one from a troubled state of mind into a state of calm tranquillity. The Studio de musique ancienne de Montreal are world class and although some may prefer the different styles of (say) the Tallis Scholars or Harry Christophers' The Sixteen, there is no reason for all but the most partisan to fail to recognise the great musicianship on display here.

Despite the use of only one voice per part, the most remarkable feature of the music and performances is the tonal richness in this programme and this is even after the lack of deploying the singers (and continuo) in the cori spezzati positioning that this repertoire demands. The clarity of ATMA's recording is a joy to behold and like the performances, the only conscious thoughts are of beautiful music so self-effacing are all aspects of the disc. The notes are also first class, containing a wonderfully evocative quote from Kenneth Clark's seminal Civilisation that still paints a vivid picture of the age.

Highly recommended.

Copyright © 2008 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

Performance:

Sonics (Multichannel):

stars stars