Track Listing

1. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Responsorium: Memento Mei
2. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Introitus
3. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Kyrie
4. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Graduale
5. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Offertorium
6. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Sanctus & Benedictus
7. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Agnus Dei
8. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Communio
9. Missa Pro Defunctis, For 4 Voices, H. IV/95: Antiphona: In Paradisum
10. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Carmina Chromatico
11. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Persica
12. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Libyca
13. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Delphica
14. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Cimmeria
15. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Samia
16. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Cumana
17. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla ...
18. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Phrygia
19. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Europaea
20. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Tiburtina
21. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Erythraea
22. Prophetiae Sibyllarum... Chromatico More Singulari: Sibylla Agrippa

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #122488 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
Many listeners today avoid Requiems, presuming that funeral masses must be depressing. Not so--many of them, like the Lassus recorded here, have lovely major-key part-writing and a sweet, tranquil air. The Hilliard Ensemble captures these qualities beautifully at the beginning of this disc: the first three tracks contain their most engaging singing in years. By track four, unfortunately, their dour streak emerges: however attractive Lassus's writing, it's difficult to stay involved with performances so aloof. Disappointment turns to serious frustration with Prophetiæ Sibyllarum (a set of verses purportedly prophesying Christ's birth). The astounding opening movement changes keys at least six times in 95 seconds; the reserved singing gives barely a hint that the music is at all unusual. For the Hilliard Ensemble at their best, try their Perotin CD; for a good example of Lassus in this mood, try the Penitential Psalms (Henry's Eight). To hear an engaging, enjoyable Renaissance Requiem, check out Manuel Cardoso or Duarte Lôbo, both by the Tallis Scholars. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews

Superbly done - not just for sacred music fans!
I'd count this as among the best "classical" albums I've ever heard. The Hilliard Ensemble is inspired in their interpretation and flawless in their execution - David James'countertenor is particularly noteworthy.

The Missa pro defunctis which leads the album is a good piece of music, but the second piece, Prophetiae Sibyllarum is incomparable - complex, ethereal, inspired, and perhaps most of all, timeless. All of this is superbly captured by the Hilliard Ensemble.

Most of my interests lie in 18th century music, but I feel this is a must have for any "classical" and/or choral music lover.

Luscious Lassus
I'm afraid I disagree with Westphal. After listening to the album a dozen or so times, I think it ranks among Hilliard's best. Yes, the performances are pristine and aloof--qualities that make their Gesualdo Tenebrae Responsories (ECM) a marvellous album. There is a place for the dramatisations of, for example, the Concerto Italiano, but for me these autere and musically serious pieces are not that place. The Prophetiae definitely do not lose interest for me, and part of the reason is Hilliard's superb intonation and phrasing. I like the performance of the Requiem (which at least at first glance sounds like the same one) as well as the performance by Bruno Turner and the Pro Cantione Antiqua (DHM), but Hilliard's inclusion of the plainchant intonations is a real plus. There is also good reason to pair the Requiem and the Prophetiae Sybillarum: though not going nearly as far as the Prophetiae, the Requiem does engage in some startling changes of mode and key (for example, near the start of the Offertory). The recorded sound is excellent, though with a fair amount of room reverberation.

Tame Chromatic Lassus
I bought this CD for the Prophetiae Sibyllarum, a work I had never heard before. The Prophecies form a large scale work of Lassus's relatively brief chromatic period. Chromatic means that these pieces do not stay centered around a certain key, like D minor, but rather move rapidly from key to key, an approach to harmony that essentially disappeared from music after this period until Wagner. The chromatic approach fits the texts, which are poems that are Christian but with a strong pagan influence. (It would be an interesting problem to decide whether any of them would be acceptable as an anthem in a Roman Catholic Tridentine Latin mass). But they seem less chromatic than Gesualdo madrigals. I was actually disappointed that they did not sound more exotic. I managed to get a copy of the score, and when a group of us read through some of them, we found them fairly easy to sight-read, because the harmonic transitions are fairly natural to the ear, and like much of Lassus, their tempi are mostly on the slow side (which makes sense for Lassus because he wrote for cathedrals with long reverberation times). On balance, I found the Prophecies less musically inspired than I had hoped. But this is a fine recording of rare music, and I'm glad I own it.