Search - Guillaume Dufay, Pomerium, Mark Duer :: Dufay: Mass for St. Anthony of Padua / Pomerium

PAZ PARA EL ALMA.

Francisco J. Muñoz | Santa Cruz, Bolivia | 04/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Esta Misa es la primera obra que escucho de Dufay. Qué experiencia más grandiosa, la Misa proporciona una paz espiritual sublime. Cuando compré este disco jamás me hubiera imaginado que me hubiera causado una impresión tan profunda. El compositor Flamenco (Holandés) Duflay (músico y sacerdote), que nació a fines del Siglo 14 y es llamado "EL MOZART DEL SIGLO 15 ". Yo antes de conocer a Duflay, pensaba que los primeros maestros polifónicos de primer nivel eran Monteverdi y Palestrina, qué grande fue mi sorpresa al oír a un compositor que un siglo antes ya hacia música polifónica de tan belleza! La interpretación de Pomerium es inspirada con un nivel de profundidad y religiosidad extraordinarias.Un regalo para el Alma."

Excellent Complete Early Music Mass

B. Marold | Bethlehem, PA United States | 12/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 'Mass for St. Anthony of Padua' by Guillaume DuFay performed by Pomerium, directed by Alexander Blachly is the first, but not the only recording of this work and I have not heard the alternate recording. But, as performances of early music goes, this recording is a winner for me and it will probably please any other novice fan of early vocal liturgical music.



Unlike so much music from earlier centuries, this is a complete mass, with all the expected pieces in place such as the Introit, Kyrie, Gloria, Gradula, Alleluia, Credo, Offertorium, Sanctus, Agnus Dei and Communio. This could be performed in my Lutheran church and not be out of place, except for the Latin.



The performance is an excellent mix of both male and female choral works, where the two ranges are often performing together.



Of all the old music I have reviewed from my amateur point of view, this is one of the most enjoyable to hear."

Peaceful, Relaxed, Perfectly Blended Voices

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 03/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Guillaume Dufay (ca. 1397 - 1474): Mass for St. Anthony of Padua [composed c. 1450]. Pomerium, dir. Alexander Blachly. Recording: March 1995 in the Grotto Church of Notre Dame, New York. First published in 1996 as Deutsche Grammophon Archiv 447 772-2. Total playing time: 68'37".



Although it would certainly be possible to discuss the historicity of performing this music with a mixed male-female choir (Pomerium use not only sopranos on this CD but also one female alto together with two male altos), any reservations are swept away as soon as one puts a Pomerium CD in the player and exposes oneself to this uncommonly pure, harmonious sound. That is true of Pomerium's earlier CDs, which appeared on the American Dorian label, and at least equally of this firstfruit of the co-operation between Pomerium and Deutsche Grammophon. I own the French language edition, on the front cover of which there is a picture of a watery surface that has shortly before been disturbed by someone throwing in a stone. The peacefulness and the feeling of harmony and "givenness" which this picture irradiates reflects perfectly to my mind that which anyone may expect who takes the trouble to spend time with this Mass and this authoritative recording. The individual voices (mostly without the basses) blend together with a perfection that only very few choirs achieve at this level of tonal purity and, at the same time, relaxation. Of course, the effect is also a result of Dufay's music which does without the emotional ups and downs of later polyphonic writing. Nevertheless, I should like to emphasize the absolutely sovereign achievement of the choir directed by Alexander Blachly which creates an atmosphere of artistic respect for the composition combined with a kind of religious commitment right up to the last moment of the CD. This not only equals the performances of British choirs such as the Tallis Scholars or The Sixteen but threatens to outdo them on their very own territory.



In the mean time there are other recordings of this mass, some of them with a rather different conception (e. g. the La Reverdie recording for the French Arcana label). And to be sure, it is possible to perform Dufay's music differently from the way Pomerium do. But I find it hard to imagine that it would be possible to better Pomerium's achievement.



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