Description

Music for this beloved feast of the Assumption of Our Lady includes the Gregorian chant proper Gaudeamus omnes in Domino along with polyphony by the Spanish master Tomás Luis de Victoria. Victoria was very likely a student of the great Palestrina and later was ordained a priest. He wrote sacred music exclusively, and is famed for the mystical fervor of his style. Victoria’s Missa Gaudeamus, a brilliant six-voice setting of the ordinary of the Mass, is unforgettable for the grace with which the composer weaves the hauntingly beautiful initial motive of the Gaudeamus introit into the rich texture of the polyphony. Victoria’s motets Beata es, Virgo Maria, and O Sacrum Convivium are included as anthems sung during the offertory and communion, respectively.

“The men of the Schola Cantorum intone the chant magnificently. The full choir, nearly 30 voices in all, sings the polyphony with a clarity that doesn’t compromise grandeur. While it’s thrilling to hear and ensemble of this size sing the Sanctus of Victoria’s Mass, the ensemble is also excellent in the delicate motet ‘Beata es, Virgo Maria’. I strongly recommend this recording and suggest you seek out the Schola Cantorum’s other recordings of Renaissance polyphony.”

Craig Zeichner
Early Music America, Summer 2000 issue

Track listing:

1. Introit: Gaudeamus omnes (plainsong, mode i)
2. Kyrie eleison: Missa Gaudeamus (Victoria)
3. Gloria in excelsis Deo: Missa Gaudeamus (Victoria)
4. Collect (plainsong)
5. Lesson (plainsong)
6. Gradual: Propter veritatem (plainsong, mode v)
7. Alleluia: Assumpta est Maria (plainsong, mode v)
8. Gospel (plainsong)
9. Credo: Missa Gaudeamus (Victoria)
10. Offertory: Assumpta est Maria (plainsong, mode viii)
11. Motet at the Offertory: Beata es, Virgo Maria (Victoria)
12. Preface (plainsong)
13. Sanctus: Missa Gaudeamus (Victoria)
14. Benedictus: Missa Gaudeamus (Victoria)
15. Pater Noster (plainsong)
16. Agnus Dei: Missa Gaudeamus (Victoria)
17. Communion Antiphon: Optimam partem (plainsong, mode viii)
18. Motet at the Communion: O Sacrum Convivium (Victoria)
19. Postcommunion & Dismissal (plainsong)