Sony Classics 62977
Gesualdo - Tenebrae
The Taverner Consort
conducted by
Andrew Parrott
Sony Classics 62977 |
Gesualdo - Tenebrae
|
Early music specialist Andrew Parrott and his Taverner Choir present
this rich and unique choral music from Italian madrigal composer Gesualdo,
written in observance of the Catholic Church's most sacred holiday.
Tenebræ (Latin for darkness or shadows) is the name of the church service
held after nightfall during the last three days of Holy Week, during which the
candles in the church are extinguished one by one "to signify the setting of
the Sun of Justice" in the words of Benedict XIV. The service is treated as a
sort of funeral service or dirge, commemorating the death of Jesus. Following
the opening, the service is divided into three sections, called "Nocturnos".
Gesualdo's music is richly and intensely chromatic, suggesting the music of
Wagner which followed centuries later.
Amazon.com
"Gesualdo's madrigals, crammed full
of sudden, disorienting changes in harmony (and dissonance), can seem to induce
vertigo all by themselves, and much of his liturgical music is only marginally
more stable. The Taverner Consort and Choir perform here several of Gesualdo's
Tenebrae Responsories from the liturgy for Good Friday. Andrew Parrott's
practice of performing sacred music in the context of at least a partial
service works especially well here. After 70 uninterrupted minutes of
Gesualdo's high-flying weirdness, a listener's sense of dislocation can wear
off; hearing chant and even intoned readings between Gesualdo's music (as
Gesualdo would have done in his own chapel) helps keep the ears oriented. Each
time the Consort sings one of Gesualdo's pieces after some chant, you're
reminded anew just how willfully bizarre that music is...Andrew Parrott and his
singers show Gesualdo's sacred music to better advantage than has anyone else
so far." --Matthew Westphal
Click below to Listen to Samples or Buy Gesualdo - Tenebrae |
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