Guerrero: Missa de la batalla escoutez

“A very important disc” Early Music Review

“James O’Donnell and the Westminster Choir have surely come up with another stunning winner. Hyperion and all involved in this record deserve a very special accolade” Choir & Organ

“These performances show that Guerrero deserves his anniversary celebration” BBC Music Magazine

“Anniversary CD of the year—and my personal favourite” Gramophone Magazine

“Despite his suggestive name, Guerrero's parody of Janequin's La Bataille de Marignan isn't the work of a fighting man: fanfares and alarums are definitely off the agenda while he develops, in an often rather sober manner, the smooth counterpoint of his model. Only in the 'Osanna' does Guerrero let rip, a moment seized on with gusto by the choir and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts. Guerrero spent his career at Seville Cathedral, where the chapter was one of the first in Spain to agree to the establishment of a permanent, salaried wind band to participate in processions and at other points in divine worship.
It appears to have been one of Guerrero's duties to sort out what and when, and even how (scoring and ornamentation were part of his brief) the minstrels played.
The instruments (shawms, cornetts, sackbuts, dulcian and organ) subtly double the voices, adding depth to the sound, and strengthening major cadence points. Particularly striking is the earthy tone of the bajón (dulcian) reinforcing the bass line in proto-continuo fashion. In fact, it's in the other items on this CD that the combination of voices and instruments really comes into its own. The setting of the psalm In exitu Israel experiments with Guerrero's forces (including cornetts and recorders), resulting in an opulence of sound more readily associated with Venetian music of the period. But this isn't just an exercise in applied musicology. These are well-paced, intelligent performances that get inside the skin of Guerrero's marvellous music. Don't be surprised to find yourself humming the Spanish chant for the hymn Conditor alme siderum after this compelling rendition. The musicianship is superb, the technical element entirely satisfactory and satisfying.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Throughout the disc the eloquent singing, very well balanced and never overwhelming the brass choir, makes this a varied and highly enjoyable introduction to a remarkable composer.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“The centrepiece of the CD, though, is his Mass based on a famous chanson by Janequin depicting the Battle of Marignano in 1515. Guerrero selects the deceptively simple opening music as his material for a dazzling display of expansion and development. Harry Christophers gives magnificently sure-footed direction throughout.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2009 ****

“…it is good to hear The Sixteen tackle something secular and less than reverent for a change. The singers certainly seem to enjoy it.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2009

“The Sixteen, have unearthed another Spanish Renaissance composer of equal eminence in his day: Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599)...The lyrical and expressive Missa de la batalla escoutez, based on a popular battle chanson by Janequin, is the centrepiece of this superb disc.” The Observer, 29th March 2009

“The Sixteen luxuriate in [Guerrero's] texture and phrase. Other works by Guerrero further underline the illustriousness of a man who was one of the Renaissance’s finest.” Sunday Times, 8th March 2009 ***

“Westminster Cathedral Choir recorded Guerrero's 'Battle' Mass (based on Janequin's famous descriptive chanson) for Hyperion (see above), drawing on instrumental support from His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts. To this historically documented approach to performance The Sixteen now provide an a cappella alternative. But a more profound difference between the two interpretations is summed up in the question: to what extent ought the per- formance of a parody Mass (that is, a Mass based on earlier work) adopt not just the letter, but also the spirit of its model? The winds in the earlier recording helped James O'Donnell to evoke the martial atmosphere of the original Janequin song. The Sixteen take an altogether more placid approach throughout, with only the Credo rather more vigorous than the other movements. Whatever one's view of the matter, they defend their own with conviction: the Agnus Dei contains moments of great beauty, for which Guerrero too deserves some of the credit. It's a fine piece, and to have two contrasted interpretations of similar quality can only deepen one's appreciation of it.
The rest of the programme is on a similar level: particularly worth mentioning are Guerrero's two settings from the Song of Songs, Tota pulchraes and Ego flos campi. Helpfully, the model for Guerrero's Mass opens the programme.
Some listeners may find it incongruous for a heartfelt Mass to have been based on such worldly sentiments; stranger still for Spanish composers to borrow from a work written to celebrate a victory against their own side! But it is good to hear The Sixteen tackle something secular and less than reverent for a change. The singers certainly seem to enjoy it.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010