Guerrero: Missa De la batalla escoutez & Other Works

Featuring

James O'Donnell
Westminster Cathedral Choir
His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts
Francisco Guerrero

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Guerrero, a devout priest-musician, was also able to compose delightful secular music and delicate vernacular religious songs, unlike his contemporaries Morales and Victoria.

Instruments

The ensemble of instruments used at Seville Cathedral during Guerrero's career typically included three shawms (chirimías), two sackbuts (sacabuches), cornetts (cornetas), and recorders (flautas).

Compositional Technique

The Seville Cathedral Chapter Acts reveal that instrumentalists were instructed to play motets and other polyphonic music on their own, and also contributed to 'alternatim' performances, replacing sung verses with instrumental renditions.

Historical Context

During Guerrero's time, major cathedrals in Spain like Seville and Toledo employed groups of wind players, known as ministriles, on a contract basis.

Recording & Production

This recording by Westminster Cathedral Choir aims to emulate the variety of sound found in Guerrero's liturgical music by involving instruments, including shawms, cornetts, flutes, sackbuts, and the bajón.

Cultural Impact

Guerrero's compositions were revered and emulated for centuries after his death, with many of his motets serving as models for Masses by other composers well into the 17th century.

Composer Biography

Francisco Guerrero, the composer, spent his entire career serving Seville Cathedral, starting as a boy chorister and later becoming maestro at Jaén Cathedral at 18.