Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
Product Description
10CD Ensemble Plus Ultra/Michael Noone
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. R. Equus
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Victoria's music has increasingly been rediscovered in the past few years with many fine and august recordings coming from many fine choirs including the Tallis Scholars, The Gabrielli Consort, The 16, Tenerbrae and the Westminster Cathedral Choir.
The popularity of Victoria's music is not hard to understand, even to people like me who know little of the scholarly skill needed to realise musical performances.
Ensemble Plus Ultra are a predominantly British Renaissance Music led by a scholarly Australian: Michael Noone and the co-director-Warren Trevelyan-Jones. The group's website states that their primary objective is to ' promoting historically-aware performances of Spanish liturgical music of the Renaissance'.
Such is their purpose that the group has spent a lot of time in Spain, with Noone going through Spanish archives seeking out manuscripts of neglected or undiscovered musical manuscripts of Renaissance composers. This compendium of Victoria's work has 3 masses and 6 magnificats previously unrecorded. The individual works were recorded for a Spanish based Universal label and were previously hard to get and little known outside of Spain.
Some of the works are accompanied by musical instruments which might come as a surprise to those people who are used to unaccompanied voices. The sheer beauty and majesty of the sound comes through recorded in a clear and uncluttered acoustic.
I find the music acts like palette cleanser of the soul and have started to play them after stressful days at work. This music works wonders and I cannot commend it highly enough.... Read more ›
The popularity of Victoria's music is not hard to understand, even to people like me who know little of the scholarly skill needed to realise musical performances.
Ensemble Plus Ultra are a predominantly British Renaissance Music led by a scholarly Australian: Michael Noone and the co-director-Warren Trevelyan-Jones. The group's website states that their primary objective is to ' promoting historically-aware performances of Spanish liturgical music of the Renaissance'.
Such is their purpose that the group has spent a lot of time in Spain, with Noone going through Spanish archives seeking out manuscripts of neglected or undiscovered musical manuscripts of Renaissance composers. This compendium of Victoria's work has 3 masses and 6 magnificats previously unrecorded. The individual works were recorded for a Spanish based Universal label and were previously hard to get and little known outside of Spain.
Some of the works are accompanied by musical instruments which might come as a surprise to those people who are used to unaccompanied voices. The sheer beauty and majesty of the sound comes through recorded in a clear and uncluttered acoustic.
I find the music acts like palette cleanser of the soul and have started to play them after stressful days at work. This music works wonders and I cannot commend it highly enough.... Read more ›
90 of 91 people found the following review helpful
By Murray Low
Format:Audio CD
I bought this in a shop speculatively today, although you can get it cheaper than I did by buying it on here... To be honest I decided to purchase this 10 CD set of Victoria's music for two reasons. Firstly, although I am not really a renaissance music aficionado, of the late renaissance music I have spent time with, Victoria's is (for whatever reason) the most striking and moving to me. I won't elaborate on this here, as if you are reading this review it is likely you have your own assessment of these things! The second reason I bought it was a sense of shock that Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, a once splendid source, would actually bother to, or be allowed to, release anything like this these days. It is a far more risky commercial proposition than DG's invaluable boxes of Schumann, Liszt, and Chopin of the last few years (they were not that impressive when it came to Haydn and Mahler). Even the excellent but sadly very short-lived Messiaen complete works they released for that anniversary might be seen as a bit less of a risk, given the popularity of that composer in recent years.
As most of the afore-mentioned recent anniversary sets have overwhelmingly collected together previously released recordings this set seems even more of a mystery - only labels like Brilliant Classics seem able to whip up instant comprehensive new sets of anything these days. However, it seems, reading the small print, that these recordings are licensed from the Caja Madrid foundation. As I have recently listened to a cd of entirely different music from this foundation's associated label, it may be that some, at least, of these discs have had limited circulation before (the earliest recordings are from 2008). Perhaps some Spanish readers - or others - can clarify?... Read more ›
As most of the afore-mentioned recent anniversary sets have overwhelmingly collected together previously released recordings this set seems even more of a mystery - only labels like Brilliant Classics seem able to whip up instant comprehensive new sets of anything these days. However, it seems, reading the small print, that these recordings are licensed from the Caja Madrid foundation. As I have recently listened to a cd of entirely different music from this foundation's associated label, it may be that some, at least, of these discs have had limited circulation before (the earliest recordings are from 2008). Perhaps some Spanish readers - or others - can clarify?... Read more ›
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Won't disappoint lovers of renaissance choral music. For those who only know Victoria's Missa O Quam Gloriosum (like me), this collection reveals a host of gems in his output. Consistently inspired, intense music, given controlled, rhythmically precise, but fluid performances; ideally paced, with immaculate, well balanced, clear recordings. Written notes include sung texts and translations, and brief but useful historical detail. Usual cheap card CD covers in this box set. Priceless music at a great price.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I agree with the other reviewers here - this is a terrific set. It contains ten CDs of Victoria's music, a good deal of which has not been recorded before and all of which is simply sublime. There are some magnificent recordings of Victoria available and this stands with the best of them in my view. (You may like to be aware that Michael Noone has chosen not to record what is probably Victoria's best-known work, the Requiem of 1605; the setting of the Missa pro Defunctis here is the 1583 setting - a lovely setting but possibly not the one you may be expecting.)
The performances are uniformly excellent and worthy of the wide praise which has been heaped upon them. The singers are technically excellent and show a fine empathy with the music and texts. Noone also uses sackbuts, cornets and organ in a few places. As in his fabulous recording of Guerrero's Requiem Guerrero: Requiem, this is very sensitively done and genuinely enhances the vocal lines rather than distracts from them.
I could go on at length but others have already said all that needs to be said. I will just say that this will take its place alongside my treasured Victoria recordings by The Tallis Scholars, The Cardinall's Music and The Gabrieli Consort. I can offer little higher praise than that and I recommend this set very warmly.
The performances are uniformly excellent and worthy of the wide praise which has been heaped upon them. The singers are technically excellent and show a fine empathy with the music and texts. Noone also uses sackbuts, cornets and organ in a few places. As in his fabulous recording of Guerrero's Requiem Guerrero: Requiem, this is very sensitively done and genuinely enhances the vocal lines rather than distracts from them.
I could go on at length but others have already said all that needs to be said. I will just say that this will take its place alongside my treasured Victoria recordings by The Tallis Scholars, The Cardinall's Music and The Gabrieli Consort. I can offer little higher praise than that and I recommend this set very warmly.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 7 reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Among the angelic orders
"Who if I cried would hear me, among the angelic orders" wrote Rilke in his Duino Elegies. Victoria's cry has indeed been transformed into the angelic order of exquisite... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Michael Kowalewski
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sublime listening pleasure
I've not listened to all the CDs yet but this is a wonderful set. If you are tired of this troublesome world put one of these CDs on, close your eyes and sink into a world of... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. Christopher Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvellous
An unexpected treat. Utterly mesmerising singing of delicious music which was, for the most part, totally unknown to me. Cannot recommend highly enough.
Published 17 months ago by Tony in Edinburgh
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful music - but check disk 4
I can't improve on the other reviews for these disks - they're excellent and worth every penny.
BUT, disk 4 gave me a shock - it was "Un Monstre a Paris"... Read more
BUT, disk 4 gave me a shock - it was "Un Monstre a Paris"... Read more
Published 17 months ago by A Day
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
