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Details
St Barnabas Church
Cardigan Street
Oxford
Oxfordshire
OX2 6BG
England
Programme
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Missa Papae Marcelli
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Sicut Cervus
John Sheppard – Libera nos (I)
Jean Mouton – Nesciens mater virgo virum
Raphaella Aleotti – Exurgat Deus
Felice Anerio – Christus factus est pro nobis
Nicolas Gombert – Inviolata, integra, et casta es, Maria
Tomas Luis de Victoria – Ave Maria for 8 voices
Performers
Mark Jordan – Conductor
Oxford Pro Musica Singers
Other concerts in this Series (+)
Programme Note
If the troubles of this world are weighing too heavily, or if you simply love the music of the renaissance, Oxford Pro Musica Singers invite you to join us for an evening of transportive music giving access to a more beautiful, timeless place. Palestrina's serene yet soaring Missa Papae Marcelli (c1562), written in honour of Pope Marcellus II and often considered to be the saving grace of polyphony, is the mighty central pillar of this programme celebrating 500 years of the ‘eternal father of Italian music’, in Verdi’s phrase.
The movements of the mass will be interspersed with contrasting and complementary motets by Palestrina’s luminous contemporaries from several nations, to include Victoria’s radiant eight-part ‘Ave Maria’, Sheppard’s sublime ‘Libera nos I’, Lobo’s searing funeral motet for Philip II of Spain, ‘Versa est in luctum’, and Mouton’s exquisitely crafted ‘Nesciens mater’. The intricate fretwork of the lines and purity of the soundworld are guaranteed to offer an evening of soothing sanctuary, allowing you to capture and take away with you some precious echoes of eternity.
We're looking forward to returning to St Barnabas Church, one of our favourite venues in Oxford.
