Victoria: O quam gloriosum, motet

“This is likely to become one of your most cherished discs. It's notable for its spacious depth of sound, volatile unpredictability of interpretation, and above all the soaring sostenuto of the boy trebles, with their forward and slightly nasal tone quality.
With their magnificently controlled legato lines, the Westminster boys treat Victoria's music as though it were some vast plainchant, with a passion that excites and uplifts. The choir is recorded in the exceptionally resonant Westminster Cathedral, at a distance and with great atmosphere.
Ave maris stella isn't one of Victoria's familiar Masses, quite simply because no music publisher has made it available to choirs in a good, cheap edition. To have it rescued from obscurity is laudable in itself, but to have it sung with such poise and sensitivity is an unexpected double treat.
Unlike O quam gloriosum, this is a work that thrills with echoes of Victoria's Spanish upbringing, of Morales and his predecessors, even of Josquin Desprez, whose own Ave maris stella Mass was brought to the cathedrals of the Iberian peninsula earlier in the century. The plainchant melody, familiar through Monteverdi's setting in the 1610 Vespers, completely dominates Victoria's music, for it's placed most often in huge treble lines that wheel high above the general texture. Magnificent as the early parts of the work are, nothing quite matches the final five-part Agnus Dei, sung here with admirable support and exquisitely shaped by David Hill. Recommended without reservation.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“It needs a special voice to focus the attention so clearly on itself, and Mena’s fits the bill. He has an extraordinary range…I suspect that those who dislike the ‘churchy’ manner in which the music is so often staged will find it revelatory.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2004

“Unaccompanied, the Monteverdi Choir goes back to its roots in a programme which harnesses scholarship and singing of breathtaking beauty.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2008

“This is a staggeringly sung disc of some staggeringly beautiful music … an act of rapt devotion, be it religious or simply musical” Sunday Times

“This is an anthology that has been compiled with scrupulous care. It’s beautifully varied and exquisitely sung” The Guardian

“The recording is `up-close’ and yet makes good use of the ample acoustic of St Margaret of Scotland Church, St Louis, giving a very clear reading of the open and vital sound of this excellent choir.” Choir & Organ, 5th June 2005

“This is not only an excellent program with a sensible alternation between older and newer music but one of the best quality choir recordings I’ve ever heard ...brilliant singing effectively programmed and nicely recorded.” MusicWeb International, 8th February 2006

“There can be nothing but praise for the excellence of these performances, for the quality and choice of the music itself and, most of all, for the gorgeous sound quality of these recordings made in Ely Cathedral. Add to this some eminently readable booklet–notes and we have a real winner, even if the overall aural effect bears a striking resemblance to those ubiquitous inoffensive compilation discs played in hotel lobbies the world over.
Within the basic theme of death and the soul's subsequent journey to paradise the music juxtaposes chunks of plainsong and standard cathedral choir repertoire with some rather more esoteric choral pieces. Whether it's the ancient plainchant In paradisum, Psalm 121 sung to Walford Davies's fine Anglican chant, William Harris's richly textured anthem Faire is theHeaven or the almost erotically indulgent arrangement by Timothy Brown of Steal Away, Clare College Choir distinguish it all with finely crafted and beautifully shaped performances that aren't just note–perfect but intensely perceptive as well. There's no hint of the sickliness we sometimes experience when church music is exposed to such slick professionalism on disc – rather a real sense of wonder and awe at the timeless beauty of the programme.
It's difficult to listen to the disc in its entirety without falling into some kind of soporific trance, but taken individually each piece is, in its own way, as dramatic and earth–shaking as the garish blue cover leads us to suspect.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010