Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli recommendations?

KevinP · July 26, 2007, 02:02:06 PM

I have no copy of this and am unfamiliar with the music. A store in the city where I'm currently staying has a few copies, the only one I remember at the moment being the Naxos.

Anybody want to make a suggestion for me?

bhodges · July 26, 2007, 02:38:57 PM

I have heard this one by the Tallis Scholars, and liked it very much. (I'm a fan of them in general.)

--Bruce

karlhenning · July 26, 2007, 04:01:39 PM

Haven't heard the Tallis Scholars in this, though I am sure they do very well.

Kevin, you won't go amiss with the Oxford Camerata directed by Jeremy Summerly on Naxos, either.

KevinP · July 26, 2007, 04:09:12 PM

Summerly has impressed me in the past and is definately a contender here.

Justin Ignaz Franz Bieber · July 26, 2007, 07:13:01 PM

this is one of my all-time favourite cds. knowing what i know now i'd pay just about any price to get a copy:

there's practically no comparison between this recodring & any other one, but in case it's not in stock other good recordings are the ones by the westminster cathedral choir & the recent one by the tallis scholars (different from the 1980 recording). the tallis scholars seem to do palestrina better than any other choir i've heard. (weird that i like the oxford camerata's tallis recordings better than the tallis scholars') the oxford camerata's recording is very good, and the price is right too. on vinyl there's the one by the regensburg domspatzen but that might be hard to find.

for a HIP nazi the tallis scholars' 1980 recording won't be any good no matter how it sounds because the soprano is a young girl. in case it matters, the oxford camerata has women, the westminster cathedral choir & regensburg domspatzen have boys, pro cantione antiqua has falsettists.

val · July 27, 2007, 12:34:48 AM

The version of the Tallis Scholars (1980) is also my favorite. It includes the best version of Allegri's Miserere and a short but very impressive work of the brittish composer William Mundy "Vox Patris caelestis". The soprano parts are performed by women.

To me this is one the best recordings ever made by the Tallis Scholars. They also recorded Palestrina's Missa Assumpta est Maria with the same level of extreme quality.

Archaic Torso of Apollo · July 27, 2007, 12:58:36 AM

Quote from: val on July 27, 2007, 12:34:48 AM
The version of the Tallis Scholars (1980) is also my favorite.

Is this the version that is included in Philips "Best of the Renaissance" duo?

Harry · July 27, 2007, 02:39:22 AM

Quote from: KevinP on July 26, 2007, 04:09:12 PM
Summerly has impressed me in the past and is definately a contender here.

I support that one.

Lilas Pastia · July 27, 2007, 03:51:41 AM

I got to know this masterpiece through the EMI Kings College (Willcocks) version. I can't compare it to others, as it was on a long deleted lp and I never got another version. Thanks for the recommendations. This is one of the cornerstones of classical music.

val · July 27, 2007, 03:57:27 AM

QuoteSpitvalve

Is this the version that is included in Philips "Best of the Renaissance" duo?

I don't know. The version I have was published under the label GIMELL. I ignored that they recorded to PHILIPS.

71 dB · July 27, 2007, 06:47:54 AM

Quote from: karlhenning on July 26, 2007, 04:01:39 PM
Kevin, you won't go amiss with the Oxford Camerata directed by Jeremy Summerly on Naxos, either.

I have that Summerly too (well, a re-release with Allegri's Miserere, 8.553238). I think it's very good but I haven't heard other performances...

Justin Ignaz Franz Bieber · July 27, 2007, 01:16:40 PM

Quote from: Spitvalve on July 27, 2007, 12:58:36 AMIs this the version that is included in Philips "Best of the Renaissance" duo?

no it sounds different. looks like the tallis scholars have made 4 recordings now (1980, live in rome, phillips album & 2007). the 1980 recording has a young girl on it & it definitely sounds different from any other recording.

KevinP · July 28, 2007, 03:22:35 PM

Although the store had a few different versions, none of the ones recommended here were available except for the Summerly as mentioned in my first post, so that's what I got.

I'll still keep an eye out for the other recommendations when I get back home.

Justin Ignaz Franz Bieber · July 28, 2007, 05:51:33 PM

what else did they have then?

Lilas Pastia · July 29, 2007, 06:38:27 AM

Considering Verdi's remark about Palestrina, I find it surprising that no italian recordings of his music exist

. How is it that we have to be content with those whitish, chaste and unsensual british choirs...?

Justin Ignaz Franz Bieber · July 29, 2007, 01:03:10 PM

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on July 29, 2007, 06:38:27 AM
Considering Verdi's remark about Palestrina, I find it surprising that no italian recordings of his music exist .

what was verdi's remark? i've also wondered why there are no recordings by italian choirs. there's an italian choir that did monteverdi's madrigals on glossa which is supposed to be an awesome set. (i don't know enough about monteverdi's madrigals to agree/disagree though)

QuoteHow is it that we have to be content with those whitish, chaste and unsensual british choirs...?

i didn't see a

so i presume you're not just trying to be funny? i doubt any recording could match the tallis scholars' 1980 one but i'll give any italian choir a chance.

KevinP · July 29, 2007, 04:57:27 PM

Quote from: biber fan on July 28, 2007, 05:51:33 PM
what else did they have then?

Oh boy. I bought it along with Biber's Missa Salisburgensis (by Savall) and I'm not clear which versions-that-I-didn't-buy are for which Mass let alone other works by those composers htat I had to look through. I know the Sixteens were in there, so were the Tallises though not for the Papae Marcelli. I'm sure Junghänel was in there somewhere.

KevinP · July 29, 2007, 04:58:33 PM

BTW, your user name makes it very hard to search for discussion about Biber. All I get is every post you've ever made.

Josquin des Prez · July 29, 2007, 05:33:05 PM

Quote from: biber fan on July 29, 2007, 01:03:10 PM
there's an italian choir that did monteverdi's madrigals on glossa which is supposed to be an awesome set.

La Venexiana is an incredible ensemble but hardly what you'd expect from an Italian group. Perfect technique and balance but lacking in the spontaneity of Rooley for instance. Nationality matters little, really.

Besides, when talking about Palestrina i can hardly picture his music sang in a warm or 'madrigalesque' style, if this is what Lilas was hinting at. I don't know what Verdi said, but 'chaste' and 'unsensual' seems exactly what you'd expect from somebody dedicated to writing music for the Roman church itself.

Lilas Pastia · July 30, 2007, 04:46:40 AM

Not so. Church music can be as passionate and colourful as madrigal and opera, but in a different setting. There's a lot of church music out there by Gesualdo, Monteverdi and others, a lot of it sung by italian singers/choirs. Why should Palestrina be treated differently?

BTW, Verdi was answering a question about how he viewed Wagner's music. . Can't find the exact source, but here's a quote of the quote:

QuoteIn Germany, in the Protestant arena, the children of the composer of the Brandenburg concerti jealously safeguard their identity. Verdi rightly said that the Germans are the faithful children of Bach, while we Italians are the degenerate children of Palestrina.

From this article, which BTW is quite a good read and not far removed from this thread's subject.

Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli recommendations?

bhodges

karlhenning

Harry

Lilas Pastia

Lilas Pastia

Lilas Pastia