Singing Christmas

Haec Dies

Pieces by Young Italian Composers

Contemporary Sacred Music

Palestrina - Double Choir Masses

“Palestrina: Double Choir Masses” is the new album by the Musicanova Choir, released by Armel Music. In the extensive vocal production of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, almost entirely dedicated to sacred music, a significant place is occupied by multi-choir compositions. In these works, the classic four-voice structure (Cantus, Altus, Tenor, and Bassus) is doubled, forming two choirs known as “split” or “battling” choirs.

The presence of over fifty eight-voice motets and six triple-choir motets in Palestrina’s musical corpus testifies to the flourishing of polyphonic art in Rome, influenced by Venetian origins, during the first half of the 16th century.

The double choir setup increases the overall complexity of the language: the harmonic-vertical reading prevails over the contrapuntal-horizontal one. This genre fascinatingly opens up towards rich, complex, and ingenious Baroque architectures. The alternation of the two dialoguing ensembles – an early form of stereophony – envelops the listener in wonder; the dialogue between the two choirs, each standing alone, is skillfully alternated to reach its peak in the full choir interaction of the eight voices.

The only four eight-voice double-choir masses composed by Palestrina were published posthumously between 1599 and 1601. Each of these masses is built on the motet from which it takes its name, and in this album, you can listen to the “Missa Fratres ego enim accepi” and the “Missa Laudate Dominum omnes gentes.”

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Ombre di Luce

Preface by Fabrizio Barchi and Simone Di Stefano

In suggesting a listening key for the pieces in this collection, we consider how the language of music is used to evoke the universal opposites of darkness and light. The contrasts between soft and loud, consonant and dissonant harmonies create fragments that reflect the turmoil and wonder of existence.

This collection features pieces by composers who are historically and stylistically distant from each other, yet united in their exploration of beauty, which the choir seeks to capture in sound and interpretation. The listener embarks on a journey of sensations and emotions, minute by minute, from the experience of darkness that becomes the prelude to the discovery of light. One suffers, becomes passionate, despairs, and is ultimately overwhelmed by the music.

The artistic and musical journey is dynamic, rich in nuances, and never still. Starting from the darkness of Fabrizio Barchi’s *Lux perpetua* and John Rutter’s *Requiem aeternam*, one finds oneself in a deep tunnel of pain where despair and hope alternate in the listening of the strong and expressive contrapuntal dissonances of Antonio Lotti’s *Crucifixus*, Henry Purcell’s *Hear my prayer*, Michael Haydn’s *Christus factus est*, or the bold, irreverent, and futuristic harmonies of Gesualdo da Venosa in his *Tristis est*.

Struggling through the darkness, we hear the piercing cry of pain with which Jesus from the cross calls out to the Father in Bàrdos’ *Eli, Eli*, but with our faces turned towards the comfort of perpetual light, we invoke God’s mercy in Barchi’s *Kyrie*. Rutter returns; let us pause on the beginning entrusted to the cello and its inescapable descriptive solitude in *Out of the deep*: music transforms pain into hope.

The night becomes radiant light: it is Christmas night that Mendelssohn, with his stylistic clarity, describes in his *Weinachten*. Intense, complex, and intimate light is found in Whitacre’s *Lux aurumque*, contrasting with the melodious, calm, and serene light of Rutter’s Psalm *The Lord is my shepherd*.

A dense and introspective emotion accompanies Grieg’s *Hvad est du dog skjØn*, the first of his four Psalms Op. 74; the play of contrasts is also evident in the listening of the elegant and radiant *Pater noster*, a double-choir composition by Jacobus Gallus. This journey, which began in the doubt and turmoil of the human soul, ends with the certainty of light embodied in the melodic fluidity and luminous chords of Palestrina’s motet *Surge illuminare*.

Perhaps it is not just musical beauty, but reflection and harmony. The shadows become quiet, and the listener allows themselves to be lulled by the idea of trusting this play of opposing elements, which are necessary for each other to make sense, coming to understand their profound meaning and initiating a personal yet shared search for depth, intensity, wonder, and truth.

Where light and shadows integrate, blur, and outline reality.
Where we discover ourselves and renew our perspective on the world’s things.

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Coro Musicanova – Eos Female Choir
Pianist: Mario Madonna
Organist: Crescenzo Grifone

From the Middle Ages to the present day, Christmas has always captivated composers, becoming an inexhaustible source of inspiration. A project dedicated to Christmas music inevitably becomes a timeless journey, traversing different styles and cultures, and exploring various ways of musically expressing the birth of the Savior.

Our focus has been on both some pages from the Renaissance polyphonic repertoire and compositions from our era. The collection is completed by pieces from the unique repertoire of Carols. Written between the 14th and 19th centuries, mostly by anonymous writers, the texts of the Carols are narratives that, despite their simple and clear language, are rich in depth and poetry. These stories describe a Christmas rooted in popular tradition, balancing between sacred scriptures and apocryphal gospels. The themes include the hope of birth, the rejoicing of Bethlehem, the shepherd’s song, and the classic lullaby. Many composers, especially from the Anglo-Saxon area, have created pieces based on these texts that have become Christmas classics. However, the interest is also alive among composers from other cultural backgrounds, as evidenced by this recording.

The sequence of the pieces does not follow the significant chronological and stylistic leaps of the music but follows a narrative path, from the Angel’s announcement to Mary to the contemplation of the Child Savior of Humanity. The notable differences in musical styles, the compositional peculiarities of the pieces, the “coloristic” diversity of the choirs, and the alternation of a cappella music with accompanied pieces, we believe, create a unique listening experience. The common thread is solely the mystery and contemplation of Christmas, meditation, and joy that this event, the greatest in the history of Humanity, fully expresses, especially through song.

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Passio Caeciliae

The ancient text of the “Passio Caeciliae” recounts the legendary chronicle of the martyrdom of Cecilia, the daughter of a noble Roman family, who was martyred, according to tradition, at the end of the 2nd century, right in her home. Historical and legendary elements intertwine, creating a wonderful story where Cecilia’s virginity and innocence, combined with her faith and love for the poor, capture the heart of her husband Valerian. Through Cecilia, Valerian discovers the Christian faith, gets baptized, and accepts both virginity and martyrdom. Cecilia is a being made of light and love, a stunning masterpiece of innocence and youth that smells of heaven. Her martyrdom is terrible, yet it is her most beautiful song of love to Christ.

The sacred cantata unfolds in nine scenes that describe Cecilia’s journey through her earthly and mystical experiences as narrated in the ancient “Passio Caeciliae.” After the introduction *Cantantibus organis*, the ancient antiphon of the Vespers of the martyr’s solemnity, which sings of Cecilia’s mystical marriage, the next scene, *The Wedding*, recounts the episode of Cecilia’s earthly marriage to Valerian. The young woman reveals to her husband her extraordinary vocation to total love for Christ and the daily visit of a mysterious Angel. This is followed by a choral piece, Psalm 45, a splendid royal epithalamium that tells of the wedding of the King of Israel with the young queen from a distant land. Here it becomes almost a serenade that the Angel offers to the young Cecilia. The fourth scene narrates the event of the baptism of the young Valerian, converted to Christ by Cecilia’s words and innocence. Only after his baptism can Valerian see the Angel with his luminous wings. But then a furious persecution shakes the Christians of Rome and falls upon Valerian and Cecilia. The young man and his brother are killed, while Cecilia exhorts the martyrs to walk their final path with faith, urging them: *Eia milites Christi*, Courage, soldiers of Christ. This is followed by Cecilia’s martyrdom, who, after three sword blows, does not die, remaining for three days between death and life. *Lux in tenebris lucet*; her light shines in the darkness as the young woman sings her love with her death. The cantata concludes with a tender “berceuse”: Cecilia dies singing her love to Christ and falls asleep in him, just as Stefano Maderno depicted her in the famous marble kept in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Rome, portraying her as she appeared in 1599 when her body was examined. This song of love flies over the world, alive and throbbing in all creatures, who let themselves be illuminated by the beauty of Love.

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Resurrexit

Composed and orchestrated by Marco Frisina, this collection offers new songs for the Easter season and solemnities. The parts of the Ordinary are taken from Mass VIII “De Angelis,” arranged in a dialogical form in the classical tradition of polyphonic music, alternating between Gregorian chant by the assembly and polyphony by the Schola. The texts, in Latin, are those proposed by the Easter Liturgy, with the addition of Psalm 23 “Dominus pascit me” and the Eucharistic hymn “Adoro te devote.” The inclusion of Eucharistic hymns emphasizes the strong connection between the sacrament of the Eucharist and Easter.

The collection includes both more challenging and simpler pieces, designed for different choirs, from parish choirs to more experienced and committed ones. All the songs are presented in a fine recording, made with the “Fideles et Amati” orchestra and the “Musicanova” choir, and can also be appreciated for personal listening and meditation.

Polifonia Antica - In Concerto

Polyphony developed over approximately 150 years, from the mid-15th century to the end of the 16th century. Des Pres and Palestrina are the two epitomes of this golden musical period, which also boasts peaks of excellence in many other composers.

From the evocative “Gloria” by Guillaume de Machaut (“not yet subject to academic schemes, this piece presents all the charm of a non-scholastic composition”), through Josquin Des Pres and the Castilian Tomás Luis de Victoria, “In Concert – Ancient Polyphony” also includes famous pieces by the “Princeps musicae” Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, and other significant composers of the Roman school.

While starting from the foundational knowledge of the writing, phrasing, and vocal techniques of the period covered in this CD, we believe that interpreting means making something our own that does not belong to us and presenting a personal version, while still respecting the form and dictates of the era. This is what we have passionately and enthusiastically tried to achieve in this collection, despite the objective limitations of a live recording made during concerts.

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White in Black

“White in Black” aims to be a melting pot of ideas, a container of musical languages, blending different styles, white music and black music. It is an osmosis where not only composers but also performers engage in the search for new forms of musical communication.

In “White in Black,” you might hear Steve Dobrogosz’s “Mass” and spirituals by esteemed contemporary composers.

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Misa Andina

Composer: Alejandro Núñez Allauca
Orchestra: Roma Sinfonietta
Conductor: Pietro Mianiti

Erreffe Music Editions

Live recording by Radio Vaticana

The “Misa Andina” is a composition of absolute originality, where the classical structure of vocal and instrumental arrangements is overlaid with popular melodies. These melodies become a defining element and strongly influence the development of the work.

“…if, in the history of this genre of sacred music, the encounter between humans and God has been based on an invocation, a prayer directed to the Divine, Maestro Núñez Allauca has introduced a change, a new way of delving into the supreme mystery of this encounter, where the Absolute Spirit and matter converse, communicate, and promise eternal Love.”
Andrea Bedetti, Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics of Music at UniTre, Milan