STUDIO DE MUSIQUE ANCIENNE DE MONTREAL
Musica Vaticana (ATMA Classique)

Montrealer Christopher Jackson and his Studio de Musique Ancienne (pictured above) have made one of their most ambitious recordings, taking on a cross-section of sacred music written to be sung by the Cappella Giulia (the Julian Choir — the Pope’s personal ensemble at the Vatican) in Rome.

The pieces on this album were written between the mid-16th century to the early-18th century. Most are for 12 or 16 parts, meaning three or four four-part choirs.

That alone says much about the complexity of the music presented here.

Jackson has chosen well, with the help of organist Réjean Poirier, who arranged the Missa Beata es Virgo Maria by Vincenzo Ugolini (1570-1638), and Noel O’Reagan, who must have spent hours in the Vatican libraries transcribing manuscripts of 12-part motets by Giovanni De Macque (d. 1614) and Francesco Soriano (1549-1621).

The two best-known composers on this disc are Orlando di Lasso (d. 1594), who contributes the 12-part motet, Domine, quid multiplicati sunt, and Orazio Benvoli (1605-1672), who is represented by two motets for sopranos and continuo and a 16-part (plus continuo) creampuff, Laudate pueri Dominum.

The intricacy of the music is entrancing, and this disc is worth savouring multiple times to truly appreciate the craft behind this music. But the overall effect falls a bit short of the ideal, because the choral sound is not as rich as it could be.

Even the best recording techniques and home sound systems can’t fully capture the wonder of hearing multiple choirs dispersed in an ancient building. Also, Jackson’s 16 choristers (four of each voice), all experienced professionals, can’t hide the fact that, much of the time, there is little more than one voice per part.

On the other hand, it’s not as if we can dash out and hear a live performance in Montreal or Toronto anytime soon.

Fortunately, we can enjoy what’s here, and use our imagination for the rest.

The ATMA Classique site has all the details, notes, audio samples and downloads, here.

+++

Here’s a sample of Ugolini’s polychoral work, the motet (unrelated to the mass setting on the ATMA disc) Beata es Virgo Maria, sung by the Choir of new College, Oxford, led by edward Higginbottom:

John Terauds

• Author
• Recent Posts

John Terauds

John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.

Latest posts by John Terauds (see all)

• Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
• Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
• CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019