Price: £9.99

Cat No: BMCD702

Widely acknowledged as Victoria's masterpiece, the Reqiuem was written in the last years of the composer's life. Here it is performed alongside Victoria's mass for All Saints, the Missa O quam gloriosum.

The Ebor Singers
Directed by Paul Gameson

Independent record producers Boreas Music, based in York, have come up trumps with a fine recording of choral music by Thomas Luis de Victoria.

The recording opens with the Motet O quam gloriosum followed by the mass of the same name. They add the hymn Christe redemptor omnium to end this section before concluding with the mighty Requiem Aeternam, written for the funeral of Victoria 's patron the Dowager Empress Maria of Spain in 1603.

The Ebor Singers were founded in 1995 and is a group made up of early music vocal specialists from the University of York, capitalising on the already great reputation that the city has in this sphere of music. Indeed, the quality, range of expression and mood of the singing is first rate, and can compete with any of the Oxbridge and London professional early music choirs. Paul Gameson is to be admired for the way he has persuaded The Ebor Singers to produce such a close-knit sound. This allows the resonant harmonic flow to despatch a greater depth of meaning, while the delicious dissonances used to highlight certain textual points, combine to produce a homogenous and convincing sound that grows organically from this finely balanced choir. I look forward to hearing more from The Ebor Singers in the future and I recommend this recording to you whole-heartedly.

David Alker

The Organist

4 stars

Anyone who has heard The Ebor Singers in concert will be fully aware of their prowess. Their founder-conductor, Paul Gameson, has moulded a tight-knit ensemble, while also finding a distinctive voice in York's already crowded choral scene. Victoria, Spain's leading Renaissance composer, is excellently represented here. The Missa O Quam Gloriosum is preceded by a motet on which it is based, the latter taken unconventionally fast. Yet this brings benefits in vitality and rhhythmic veve, which spill into the mass itself. The incomparable Requiem, representing the Iberian Renaissance in full flower, sounds sumptuous in the welcoming acoustic of St Chad's, York. But Gameson is not afraid to inject drama, for example the Offertory, rightly keeping the mood optimistic, never gloomy. A triumphant achievement, too, for York's new label, Boreas.

Martin Dreyer

York Evening Press

Requiem Aeternam was recorded on 19th November 2005, and 12th & 13th June 2007 in St Chad’s Church, York.

Recording & Engineering: Christopher Barlow
Producer: Paul Gameson & Christopher Barlow
Editing & Mastering: Cloister Records
Design: Northern Storm Design

With thanks to Canon Simon Stanley