Music for Holy Week at the Chapel of the Dukes of Braganza

1. Asperges Me, for Palm Sunday
Composed by Manuel Mendes
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

2. Hosanna, Filio David
Composed by Anonymous
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

3. Sanctus and Benedictus, for Palm Sunday
Composed by Gabriel Diaz Besson
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

4. Pueri Hebraeorum
Composed by Anonymous
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

5. Pueri Hebraeorum, motet for 4 voices
Composed by Tomas Luis de Victoria
with A Capella Portuguesa , Frances Kelly
Conducted by Owen Rees

6. Ante sex dies, Chant for Palm Sunday
Composed by Anonymous
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

7. Gloria, Laus, et Honor (with refrain by anonymous composer)
Composed by Francisco Antonio de Almeida
with A Capella Portuguesa , Frances Kelly
Conducted by Owen Rees

8. Tristis Est Anima Mea, motet for Holy Week
Composed by Alonso Lobo
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

9. O vos omnes, Motet for Holy Week
Composed by Juan de Esquivel Barahona
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

10. Clarifica me Pater, Motet for Holy Week
Composed by Giovanni Giorgi
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

11. Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae, for Maundy Thursday
Composed by Fernando de Almeida
with A Capella Portuguesa , Stephen Farr , Frances Kelly
Conducted by Owen Rees

12. In monte Oliveti, for Maundy Thursday
Composed by Fernando de Almeida
with A Capella Portuguesa , Frances Kelly
Conducted by Owen Rees

13. Fratres ego enim accepi, motet for 8 voices
Composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
with A Capella Portuguesa , Stephen Farr
Conducted by Owen Rees

14. Panis Angelicus, hymn
Composed by Joao Lourenco Rebelo
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

15. Miserere mei Deus, for Good Friday
Composed by Fernando de Almeida
with A Capella Portuguesa , Frances Kelly
Conducted by Owen Rees

16. Cum Descendentibus, for Good Friday
Composed by Gines de Morata
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

17. Caligaverunt Oculi Mei, offertory motet for 6 voices
Composed by Juan de Castro y Malagaray
with A Capella Portuguesa
Conducted by Owen Rees

Customer Reviews:

Very Enjoyable Issue........2006-01-01

'Music for Holy Week at the Chapel of the Dukes of Braganza, c1735' is liturgical music done in Latin by A Capella Portuguesa. While I am very fond of both liturgical choral music and 'early music', I clearly do not have the technical experience of the other reviewer for this piece. I can only give my visceral reaction that compared to many similar works I have heard, this is near the top of the list in historical interest and performance quality. After reading the other review, I confess I did sense a certain flatness in the sound which encourages me to look up the other recording which may be a lot better.

At any rate, I was not disappointed with this recording and it is a regular item on my Eastertime listening.

A mild letdown compared to its companion volume.......2004-09-28

As almost always with Hyperion, so with this issue: we have a splendidly enterprising choice of repertory (good luck trying to find any alternative recordings of any composers represented here, except of course Palestrina and Victoria), high performance standards, and obvious musicological expertise in the booklet notes. Yet the result is a mild letdown compared with the companion volume, MUSIC FROM RENAISSANCE COIMBRA (CDA66735).

The main problem is that something went badly wrong with balances. Various polyphonic lines in these pieces have been assigned - as customarily happened in Iberian performances of sacred compositions during the 16th and 17th centuries - to instruments: in this case, organ and harp. Clearly Owen Rees and his very gifted forces wanted the non-vocal contributions, however tactful, to be heard without effort. Unfortunately they can't be, even when straining your headphone-wearing ears to the utmost (and as for trying to detect more than the occasional glint of organ or harp tone through speakers, forget it). You need to consult the booklet in order to determine whether the instrumentalists are playing at all. Why? Inept microphone placements? Bizarre post-production whims? Given Hyperion's normally purist approach to recorded sound, the former seems more probable than the latter. Whatever the cause, it mars an otherwise commendable record.

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