Rating: 4/5
Review:
Very good polyphony
I hadn’t heard of Ribera but if David Skinner thinks he is worth
recording I reckoned he was worth hearing. I was right.
Ribera, one of
Victoria’s teachers, wrote densely textured and very skilful music
which is a pleasure to listen to and sometimes very beautiful indeed.
Skinner, of course, produces a fine, scholarly account of these
Magnificats and motets, which he directs with empathy and a fine
attention to detail.
I do have a slight
reservation, which is that the choir here is large (up to 24 voices)
and for me the detail can sometimes become lost. For this sort of
polyphony I prefer a smaller, more intimately sized choir which to me
can reveal the spirituality and beauty rather better.
That said, this is
still a fine performance of very good music, excellently recorded by
Hyperion. Recommended.
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