Sacred Treasures of Rome
The London Oratory Schola Cantorum/Charles Cole
rec. 2024, Notre Dame de France, Leicester Place, London
Texts and translations included
Reviewed as a download
Hyperion CDA68435 [72]

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is assumed to have been born in 1525 (although it could also have been early 1526), so this year his quincentennial anniversary will be celebrated. Several recordings of his music have already been released, and more will undoubtedly follow. The disc under review is also released as part of the Palestrina year, but rather than entirely focusing on his own oeuvre, he is put into his historical context, as the programme also includes pieces by contemporaries and by composers of the next generations. All the music is by composers who worked in Rome, though. Several of them are hardly known, and from that perspective this disc is also an important addition to the discography of late Renaissance polyphony.

It is fair to say that Palestrina’s music does not meet with universal enthusiasm, not even among lovers of Renaissance polyphony. Some years ago the Festival Early Music Utrecht devoted a series of concerts to masses by Josquin, which attracted large audiences. I can’t see something of that happening with masses by Palestrina. This year’s festival includes some of his music, but he is not given the same attention as Josquin. One wonders what the reason is for that. One possibility is that in the 19th century he became the hero of the Cecilian movement, which aimed at restoring Catholic liturgical music to its former glory. It resulted in the publication of works by Palestrina, and this made possible the performance of some of his most iconic works, such as the Missa Papae Marcelli. Many of these performances were probably compromised by Romantic aberrations, which were later corrected by straightforward and ‘clean’ interpretations. It may have given Palestrina a reputation for being boring. One hopes that more recent recordings are able to correct that view.

The programme of the present disc opens and closes with Palestrina. The pieces selected from his large oeuvre are different in character, in accordance with the time of the ecclesiastical year for which they are intended. Dum complerentur, and its second part Dum ergo essent are about the events celebrated on Whitsun: the descent of the Holy Ghost. It is one of the pieces where Palestrina depicts elements in the text. That is also the case with Canite tuba/Rorate caeli, both intended for Advent. The fanfare motifs at the start of the first motet – “Sound the trumpet in Zion” – can hardly be missed. At the other end of the programme we find two very contrasting pieces. Exsultate Deo is a setting of the opening verses of Psalm 80 (81), in which several instruments are mentioned. Palestrina does not overlook the opportunities to depict them in his music, but he does so in a less demonstrative way than composers of later eras. It is followed by a rather sombre and introverted work, Peccantem me quotidie: “Sinning daily, and not repenting, the fear of death troubles me”. Here, Palestrina even uses harmonic means to illustrate the text. The result is quite disturbing, as the text requires. The closing chord is one of Palestrina’s most celebrated pieces: Tu es Petrus, a setting of the text which in the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church is the foundation of the institution of the papacy.

In between these two Palestrina sections are works by other composers from Rome. Some of them were his pupils, but most were in one way or another associated with St Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratory, after which the London Oratory is called. That goes for Giovanni Animuccia, who was from Florence, like Neri. From 1556 he attended Neri’s religious gatherings as a singer from 1556 onwards. From 1555 until his death he was magister cantorum at the Cappella Giulia. Most of his oeuvre has been lost. O crux ave, spes unica is a setting of an excerpt from the hymn Vexilla regis, and is intended for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. It is set in dark colours, also due to the relatively low range.

Luca Marenzio is almost exclusively known for his madrigals. His sacred oeuvre is relatively small, largely due to the fact that he was for most of his life in the service of private persons. Notable is his stay in Warsaw, where he was in the service of the Polish king. His Magnificat 8. toni is different from most settings of this text in that it is through-composed, and not in the form of an alternation between polyphony and plainchant.

Giovanni Maria Nanino was very likely a pupil of Palestrina. He succeeded him as maestro di cappella at Santa Maria Maggiore. Adoramus te Christe is a setting of a text from the Hours of the Cross. Francesco Soriano was one of Nanino’s pupils. He acted as maestro di cappella at San Giovanni in Laterano, Santa Maria Maggiore and the Cappella Giulia respectively. Regina caeli is one of the Marian antiphons; it is sung during the Easter season. Another of Nanino’s pupils was Felice Anerio. He and his younger brother Giovanni Francesco were close to St Philip Neri, who was confessor to both their parents. In New Grove the younger Anerio is called far more progressive than Felice. The motet by the latter, Adoramus te Domine Jesu Christi, seems to contradict that, as we have to go by his use of harmony to illustrate the text. His brother’s O Maria gloriosa is for eight voices in two choirs, which mostly leaves fewer opportunities for the expression of text.

Also in eight parts is Iubilate Deo by Ruggiero Giovannelli, a pupil of Palestrina, and a singer who worked in several institutions in Rome. In this motet he switches between duple and triple time. Notable is the repetition of the word “moveatur” ([let the sea be] moved), which is quite effective. Lastly Gregorio Allegri, a composer everyone knows, thanks to the frequent performances and many recordings of his Miserere, almost always sung in a version he would very likely not recognize. Despite the years of his birth and death, he is mainly a late representative of the stile antico, although he did write music in the modern concertato style, for various musical establishments in Rome, but not for the papal choir. This part of his oeuvre, as most of his music in the old style, is hardly known, and therefore it is nice that a motet of his pen is included here. Christus resurgens ex mortuis is an eight-part piece, whose exuberant style reflects the joy of Christ’s Resurrection.

Can these performances correct the image of Palestrina as a somewhat dull composer? Yes, but…. In the booklet, Charles Cole writes: “The Schola is at its heart and purpose a liturgical choir, and we present this recording as an insight into the liturgical life of the London Oratory, where this music can be heard in its proper context.” This is one of the recording’s strengths. For the singers, this repertoire is their daily bread. This means that they are completely familiar not only with the style, but also with the content and liturgical function of what they sing. After all, this music is not intended for the concert hall, but for the liturgy. From that perspective, these performances are highly ‘authentic’. The fact that the choir consists of boys’ and men’s voices, in accordance with the practice in Palestrina’s time, certainly contributes to this. It is regrettable that fewer and fewer performances and recordings use boys’ voices.

This excellent choir demonstrates the positive effects of this. It is somewhat less well-known than the choirs of King’s and St John’s College or the Westminster choirs, but it is in no way inferior. This is the third recording of this choir on Hyperion, and each of these recordings demonstrates its quality. They sing with enthusiasm and commitment, and the character of each piece comes off perfectly. Listen, for instance, to Allegri’s Christus resurgens, and then Palestrina’s Peccantem me quotidie, and you’ll understand what I mean. The director of the choir, Charles Cole, also deserves praise for his liner-notes, in which he points out the subtle ways in which Palestrina depicts the text – not in a madrigalian way, but to good effect nevertheless. It helps to make one appreciate the way Palestrina – and the other composers included here – treat the various texts.

That said, a strictly historical performance style can hardly be expected from a choir that approaches this music from a liturgical angle. That requires extensive historical research, which is usually not possible. Moreover, this choir likely also sings later repertoire, which means that it should constantly switch between different styles and corresponding performance practices. This latter point includes matters such as the number of singers, the ratio between the various voice groups, and the temperament. That may well be too complicated. In recent years an interesting impulse towards a historical approach came from the choir of the Sistine Chapel under its director Massimo Palombella (DGG). However, since his dismissal, this process seems to have come to a standstill.

Back to the production reviewed here: these are excellent performances which demonstrate that Palestrina’s music is anything but boring. The liturgical approach, in addition to what has already been mentioned, has another advantage. It demonstrates that church choirs today should not ignore Palestrina. His music remains relevant in the Catholic liturgy, but Protestant choirs can also find much in his oeuvre that is not connected to the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Let this commemorative year be a stimulus to a revival of Palestrina.

Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
https://bsky.app/profile/musicadeidonum.bsky.social

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Contents:

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525/26-1594)
Dum complerentur – Dum ergo essent a 6
Super flumina Babylonis a 4
Canite tuba – Rorate caeli a 5
Giovanni Animuccia (c1520-1571)
O crux ave, spes unica a 5
Luca Marenzio (1553/54-1599)
Magnificat 8. toni a 8
Giovanni Maria Nanino (1543/44-1607)
Adoramus te Christe a 5
Francesco Soriano (1548/49-1621)
Regina caeli laetare a 4
Felice Anerio (c1560-1614)
Adoramus te Domine Jesu Christi a 6
Giovanni Francesco Anerio (c1567-1630)
O Maria gloriosa a 8
Ruggiero Giovannelli (c1560-1625)
Iubilate Deo a 8
Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652)
Christus resurgens ex mortuis a 8
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Sicut cervus desiderat – Sitivit anima mea a 4
Exsultate Deo a 5
Peccantem me quotidie a 5
Tu es Petrus a 6