Yes, I am a choral nerd, bwaaahaahaaa! (and I have become a Friend with a capital F) I became a Victoria convert while singing a staff bass part at a church in Manhattan, dare I say it, already nearly 20 years ago. The cascading lines that inevitably bring on the climaxes of his writing, ah. Cool stuff.
Hello Robert and crew! I am so thrilled to find this. Victoria's "Alma remptoris mater" motet and the imitation mass that is based on it are two of my favorite pieces of the entire era. I vividly remember the first time I sang the motet with Chanticleer. We read it through during the warm-up for our final holiday concert of the 2000 season in Carmel, CA. It was one of those pieces that "sang itself." I remember we were all so stunned by its sheer beauty that we could barely speak. We recorded it the following spring. The tenor line in choir one on the phrase "Gabrielis ab ore" is one of the most glorious lines ever written. (3:52: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0LCIhVc_gAI.html)
lovely! What a fun creative work! One little theology correction- Catholics pray directly to God too. But we also ask Mary to pray for us, just as one would ask a friend to pray for them. And we figure Mary's a pretty good person to ask for prayers...
