The 'Missa Secundi Toni' by Cardoso is named after the second of the eight modes inherited from Gregorian chant and is scored for six voices.
Recording & Production
Many pieces on this album, including two Magnificats by Cardoso and a motet by Estêvão Lopes Morago, are first recordings or first recordings in this version.
Composer Biography
Frei Manuel Cardoso, a significant Portuguese composer of the 16th and 17th centuries, spent most of his life under Spanish rule, a period ironically known as the 'golden age' of Portuguese music.
Historical Context
The huge Lisbon earthquake of 1755 is responsible for the loss of much polychoral music from the Portuguese 'golden age' that no longer survives.
Album & Artwork
The album's title, 'Pearls of Irregular Shape,' refers to the original Portuguese meaning of the word 'Baroque,' a metaphor for the unique treasures in this recording.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Cardoso's music is characterized by a unique blend of Palestrina-like contrapuntal writing and a personal grasp of harmony, featuring augmented intervals, unexpected entries, and false relations.
Interpretation
This recording features the Choir of Girton College, Cambridge, accompanied by historic brass instruments like sackbuts (early trombones) and cornetts (an early brass instrument).
You might also enjoy...
Himmelborgen
Per la settimana santa
Choral Concert: Americas Vocal Ensemble - Lee, D. / Guastavino, C. / Glass, G. / Moraes, V. De / Stamponi, H. / Favero, A. / Blazquez, E.
Island of Hope
Guerrero, F.: Choral Music
Seven Responses
Fux: Sacred Works
The Sacred Voice
Adeste, fideles!
Luthers Lieder. Chormusik von Bach, Praetorius, Buxtehude, Mendelssohn, Jennefeldt
