A sublime treasure of the Renaissance
fauxbourdon | Cambridge, MA United States | 11/19/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Renaissance music is my favorite genre of music, and the Tallis Scholars are my favorite performers. But this CD stands out even above their other releases. Cardoso's requiem is an extremely spiritual, melodic, grand, and transporting piece of choral music. The flowing, slowly unfolding harmonies make this among the most uplifting pieces of music I know. (Ironic that this is a Mass for the Dead!) Cardoso "pushes the envelope" of Renaissance music just a little (the opening bars of Track 1 will surprise you with a very unusual augmented second in the melody line, for example), but the result of this innovation is not at all alienating or jarring. The work reminds me of the more famous Iberian Renaissance requiems of Tomas Luis de Victoria and Cristobal de Morales, but is arguably more interesting. The Tallis Scholars perform here with their typical note-perfect accuracy, singing this work with an unusually sweet and gentle fashion. This is one of my favorite few albums."
MUST HAVE!!!!!
Samuel F. Palmer | 03/02/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are some CDs in my musical collection that get played more than others. This is one of them. LOVE LOVE LOVE this recording. Worth every penny, schilling, pfennig, yen you have. Empty the bank account for this one if you have to. You won't be disappointed."