1. Osculetur Me
  2. Kyrie
  3. Gloria
  4. Credo
  5. Sanctus & Benedictus
  6. Agnus Dei
  7. Hodie Completi Sunt
  8. Timor Et Tremor
  9. Alma Redemptoris Mater
  10. Salve Regina
  11. Ave Regina Caelorum
  12. Regina Caeli

Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips - conductor

The first recording of the magnificent motet and Mass Osculetur me by Lassus, both scored for double choir, together with a selection of his sacred motets. --- hyperion-records.co.uk

Lassus spent much of his working life in the service of the Bavarian Court in Munich. He was a crucial figure in the development of 16th century music, and his enormous output of compositions earned him great fame and admiration. The double-choir Missa Osculetur me was unknown until discovered in a manuscript in Slovenia in the 1970s. It is now thought of as one of Lassus's most remarkable works. `Once again, The Tallis Scholars and the Gimell label have produced something spectacularly worthwhile' David Fallows. ---arkivmusic.com

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1. Part I: I. Il Magnanimo Pietro 
2. Part I: II. Ma Gli Archi 
3. Part I: III. Tre Volte Haveva 
4. Part I: IV. Qual A L'incontro 
5. Part I: V. Giovane Donna 
6. Part I: VI. Cosi Talhor 
7. Part I: VII. Ogni Occhio Del Signor 
8. Part II: VIII. Nessun Fedel Trovai 
9. Part II: IX. Chi Ad Una Ad Una 
10. Part II: X. Come Falda Di Neve 
11. Part II: XI. E Non Fu Il Pianto Suo 
12. Part II: XII. Quel Volto 
13. Part II: XIII. Veduto Il Miser 
14. Part II: XIV. E Vago D'incontrar 
15. Part III: XV. Vattene Vita Va 
16. Part III: XVI. O Vita Troppo Rea 
17. Part III: XVII. A Quanti Gia Felici 
18. Part III: XVIII. Non Trovava Mia Fe 
19. Part III: XIX. Queste Opre E Piu 
20. Part III: XX. Negando Il Mio Signor 
21. Part III: XXI. Vide Homo

Huelgas Ensemble:
Marius van Altena - Tenor 
Willem Ceuleers - Bass 
Ibo van Ingen - Tenor 
Harry van der Kamp - Bass 
Katelijne van Laethem - Vocals
Otto Rastbichler  - Tenor 
Cecilia Roovers 	- Vocals
Marie-Claude Vallin - Soprano 
Stephane Van Dijk - Tenor 

Paul van Nevel 	- Conductor

This is one of Lassus's masterpieces, written shortly before his death. A specialist in late medieval and Renaissance vocal music, Van Nevel is the ideal performer for this work and this recording is one of his best. Oddly, this 1993 disc was released at the same time as another outstanding performance, by Philippe Herreweghe's Ensemble Vocal Européen. It is hard to choose between the two recordings, which, though different in their options, are both equally compelling and rewarding. Van Nevel uses discreet instrumental accompaniments while Herreweghe's performance is strictly a capella. Herreweghe's cast has more stars, such as Maria Cristina Kiehr, Gerd Türk, and Peter Kooy, but Van Nevel's regular ensemble attains the same coherence and fervor. It is a rare luxury to have two performances of this caliber, and those who really enjoy this music will want both. --- Peter Janssens, amazon.com

Orlandus Lassus was the most famous composer of the second half of the 16th century. The publication of the ‘Lagrime di San Pietro’ is a testimony of his fame. It is a splendid edition, prepared with utmost care by Adam Berg in Munich, who had published Lassus’s works since 1567.

Lassus himself never saw the edition. It appeared in 1595, one year after his death. The last five years of his life were difficult. From 1587 onwards he suffered from melancholia and hallucinations. Shortly before his death he was able to compose again, and he decided to select twenty sacred madrigals from the collection ‘Lagrime di San Pietro’ by the Italian poet Luigi Tansillo (1510 – 1568), which contained forty-two stanzas of eight lines (‘ottave rime’) on the grief and the repentance of St Peter after his denial of Christ. To these twenty madrigals Lassus added a Latin motet.

The images used in secular poetry were often used in sacred poetry as well. The love for a lady was transferred to the relationship between the believer and Mary or Jesus. The ‘Lagrime’ is no exception. It contains elements which also appear in secular poetry of the time.

The ‘Lagrime’ doesn’t describe the events at the cross, but the feelings of St Peter about what is going on, and in particular his role in it. Lassus’s music is following the text very closely, making use of the madrigalisms which were in vogue.

There is also strong symbolism in the settings by Lassus. This symbolism turns around the numbers seven – all madrigals are set for seven voices - and three – the cycle is divided into three sections. The whole cycle contains twenty-one items; three times seven. The number seven is associated with sorrow and sin, the number three here refers to the number of times St Peter denied Christ.

There are different theories regarding the reasons why Lassus composed this work. Some believe that, since Lassus felt his end was near, he thought it necessary to do penance for his sins – for instance, his composition of secular works on morally dubious texts – and a composition like this was the best way to do so. Whether this is true or not, this work certainly had a personal meaning for Lassus, as in the dedication he called it "a personal devotion at this difficult age".--- Johan van Veen, musicweb-international.com

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01. Missa Pro Defunctis : Responsorium : Memento Mei [0:01:47.73]
02. Introitus [0:06:12.33]
03. Kyrie [0:03:19.09]
04. Graduale [0:05:02.00]
05. Offertorium [0:05:36.60]
06. Sanctus & Benedictus [0:04:31.73]
07. Agnus Dei [0:03:04.33]
08. Communio [0:03:23.64]
09. Antiphona : In Paradisum [0:01:25.86]
10. Prophetiae Sibyllarum : Carmina Chromatico [0:01:35.60]
11. Sibylla Persica [0:02:32.20]
12. Sibylla Libyca [0:02:41.06]
13. Sibylla Delphica [0:02:15.62]
14. Sibylla Cimmeria [0:02:16.80]
15. Sibylla Samia [0:01:54.50]
16. Sibylla Cumana [0:02:15.93]
17. Sibylla Hellespontiaca [0:02:07.46]
18. Sibylla Phrygia [0:01:54.80]
19. Sibylla Europaea [0:02:14.80]
20. Sibylla Tiburtina [0:02:11.60]
21. Sibylla Erythraea [0:02:25.76]
22. Sibylla Agrippa [0:02:24.93]

The Hilliard Ensemble :
David James : Countertenor
Rogers Covey-Crump : Tenor
John Potter : Tenor
Gordon Jones : Baritone

From the outset, the Hilliard Ensemble strikes an arrestingly sombre tone with the bass intonation Memento mei Deus on its latest disc of music by Lassus. Dark colours persist with the exquisitely poised account of the Missa pro defunctis, published in 1578. Splendidly recorded in Boxgrove Priory’s richly resonant acoustics, these singers – with sensational control in both the chording and the hypnotic, slow-moving counterpoint – powerfully transmit Lassus’s exceptional ability to express the inner soul of the text. -– BBC Music Magazine

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Disc 1
1 Domine, ne in furore two arguas me	16:26 	
2 Beati, quorum remissae sunt iniquitates	18:22 	
3 Domine, ne in furore two arguas me	27:11 	

Disc2
1 Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam		24:24 	
2 Domine, exaudi orationem meam	27:14 	
3 De profundis clamavi ad te Domine	9:17 	
4 Domine, exaudi orationem meam	17:46 	

Collegium Vocale Gent
Philippe Herreweghe - conductor

It's a mystery why Lassus' Penitential Psalms have not received more attention on disc--but then, after hearing these sublime performances it's easier to accept this state of affairs. Simply put, Philippe Herreweghe and his Collegium Vocale Gent offer the most sonorous, vocally vibrant versions of these works, with taut ensemble and a natural, unforced symmetry among melody, rhythm, tempo, and text. Of course, this is exactly what these works--some of the finest examples of Renaissance polyphony and artful integration of styles--require for successful performance.

From very early in the first of the seven psalms we can appreciate not only the choir's absolute command of Lassus' varied technical and interpretive elements but also the substantial aural delights of his rich textures and unencumbered, ever-flowing polyphony. If you're a seasoned listener to Renaissance choral music, when you hear these performances you can't help but move aside--even if temporarily--all other of your favorite composers in deference to such transcendent mastery of structure (making a cohesive larger work out of lengthy texts) and rhetorical expression (employing principles of natural speech inflection), all the while sustaining momentum and tension within a many-hued, multi-textured musical fabric.

And did I mention beauty? The perfectly tuned and balanced voices of Collegium Vocale Gent, recorded in appropriately resonant yet clear, detailed sound, never let us forget that aside from its other impressive features, Lassus' music is conceived in beauty. It's important to note that this set does not include the "eighth" psalm, Laudate Dominum, (included on Hyperion's recently reissued recording with Henry's Eight) that Lassus attached to the other seven in order to complete a cycle honoring the then-popular theoretical system of eight modes. But its different subject--praise instead of penitence--makes a good argument for programming it in a different context. Also worthy of mention: the set's booklet essay by Ignace Bossuyt is a model of informative, interesting, pertinent note-writing. Bravo! --David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

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