
Over the years I have heard a lot of exquisitely beautiful music. There are moments and whole works of astounding beauty from composers like Debussy and Faure and Delibes, Mozart and Schubert and Mendelssohn, and others. But nothing, and I mean
nothing, is more beautiful than the Invitatorium from Cristóbal de Morales’ Officium Defunctorum. It is eleven minutes of sonic beauty that cannot be surpassed. How can this be, coming as it does from a piece of music dependent on only a few voices and discreet instrumental support? Well, it is surely attributable to the genius of the composer. The entire six movement work is almost indescribably beautiful, but the heavenly second movement is one of those pieces that compels me to breathe shallowly, abandon any and all thoughts of
anything else, and listen to every note with unyielding attention. And I’m not exaggerating in any way. It is difficult to overstate the impact this music has had on me on repeated listens. Very few pieces of music achieve this. It is a wonder of art. Apparently the work was first performed in Mexico, after the composer’s death, to commemorate the death of Charles V, and the manuscript remained there. Talk about sequestered treasure. It is a great work, there is no doubt.
Also undoubtedly great is the five part Missa Pro Defunctis. Based on the liner notes, this is the same work that Raúl Mallavibarrena and his Musica Ficta recorded on the Cantus label, but it sounds radically different. It relies more on male voices and sounds darker. The melodies sound different, and the way the different parts weave together sound different. As in the Mallavibarrena recording, the voices and instrumental support blend together in perfect harmony, and it is a glory of beauty first note to last. Given how different the two versions sound, the only sensible approach is to listen to and cherish both.
After such a great first disc, it is not surprising that the discs given over to the other two composers aren’t quite as good. Don’t get me wrong, there is much to enjoy and savor in the discs, they just aren’t quite at the same level. The disc given over to eleven Cantica Beatae Virginis by Tomás Luis de Victoria is to my ears the better of the two discs. Victoria strikes me as every bit as masterful as Morales in terms of formal structure and such, but his music lacks that indefinable something that makes Morales that much better. That means that listening to the disc of Victoria’s music is merely a great pleasure, as beautiful melodies and exquisite accompaniments tickle the ear. The sixteen works on the disc devoted to Francisco Guerrero are likewise beautiful and display a high level of formal mastery, but as has been my previous experience, Guerrero isn’t quite as good as the other two composers. Of course, that’s just to my ears, and ultimately I’m the lucky one because I get to listen to all the works.
Sound is quite good, though it doesn’t quite match more recent outings by Savall and crew, and the Catalan and his players and singers all deliver at a predictably high level. A great collection with at least two masterpieces of the highest order.