Reviewed by John Irvine

The music on this beautifully crafted and presented disc is a reconstruction of a Mass for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary as it might have been celebrated in the Lisbon Royal Chapel around 1635, in a period which marked the blossoming of Portuguese renaissance music. The sequence of Filipe de Magalliaes1 "Missa Osoberana Luz" (a Mass setting very appropriate to the occasion) is interspersed with plainchant, organ music and pieces by fellow Royal Chapel composers such as Carreira, Coelho and Guerrero. This would have been the practice at the time, and far from giving a sense of fragmentation, the pieces contrast and compliment one another so as to give the impression of a liturgical whole far greater than its parts. Rather than a sequence of 'performances' a real sense of unity and development in the course of an hour of beautifully haunting choral music is powerfully conveyed. Lovingly crafted devotional music nearly 400 years old intended for a service of worship has been restored to us and brought alive by A Capella Portuguese an early music group who specialise in the performance of music from Portugal and Spain. Through the integration of polyphony, chant and organ music they attempt to provide a sense of the worship context for which sacred polyphony was written. In this they excel, from the opening "Asperges Me" (purge me and I shall be clean) through the stages of confession, repentance and communion in the Mass, to the final bars of "Salve Regina" ending on a joyful note of praise and longing for God. Obviously the use of female sopranos rather than boy trebles is not historically accurate - however, their voices add a passion, a maturity and a level of commitment and competence which is usually lacking from all but the most exceptional of boys. This recording accurately captures the close acoustics of a chapel environment. A Capella Portuguesa's 16 voices fill the available space with ease and perhaps a recording location with a more spacious acoustic would have been a better choice. A flawless performance of timeless music with near-perfect sound.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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