Pater Peccavi – Music of Lamentation from Renaissance Portugal
The Marian Consort, Rory McCleery
Biblical texts of lamentation were embraced by composers of the late Renaissance for their artistic and expressive potential. But in Portugal – a kingdom without a king, its people governed by a foreign power – such settings gave life, as well, to a rich expression of covert political commentary.
Rory McCleery’s ongoing interest in this field of polyphony bears fruit for the first time in a ground-breaking programme. Many of these Portuguese composers are known, if at all, for a very few pieces. Once again, McCleery and his Consort make a clarion call for music that it deserves, and with their advocacy should now receive far wider recognition.
Reviews
"The latest from the six-strong Marian Consort, brilliant discoverers, and exponents, of rare repertoire, is Pater peccavi: Music of Lamentation from Renaissance Portugal: rich, ecstatic." The Observer
"Exemplary one-to-a-part performances ... The singing is as impassioned as it is effortlessly elegant." BBC Music Magazine
"EDITOR'S CHOICE This beautiful new album from The Marian Consort is surely one of the best one-to-a-part ensemble recordings of this repertoire ... the singers perform with a yearning intensity which is just exquisite." Gramophone