Gothic Voices / The Spirits of England And France 4

Missa Caput And The Story Of The Salve Regina

Gothic Voices, Christopher Page

1 Pange Lingua The Story Of Salve Regina – I 2:56
2 Kyrie: Deus Creator Omnium Missa Caput 5:39
3 Gloria Missa Caput 4:53
4 The Story Of Salve Regina – II 3:04
5 Credo Missa Caput 5:40
6 The Story Of Salve Regina – III 3:48
7 Sanctus Missa Caput 5:02
8 The Story Of Salve Regina – IV 2:16
9 Agnus Dei Missa Caput 4:42
10 The Story Of Salve Regina – V 2:55
11 Salve Regina 2:22

Fiftenth-Century Carols

12 Jesu For Thy Mercy 2:16
13 Jesu Fili Dei 2:48
14 Make Us Merry 1:58
15 Nowell, Nowell, Nowell 3:20
16 Clangat Tuba 5:13
17 Alma Redemptoris Mater 6:15

18 Agnus Dei 2:23

The English anonymous fifteenth-century Missa Caput at the centre of this disc is probably the most significant work from the period. It was copied all across Britain and the Continent and was largely responsible for the universal adoption of the ‘parody Mass’ technique and of today’s standard four-part choir arrangement. It is a work of great stature and beauty, in this performance interspersed with a curious Latin poem which describes how two small boys composed the Salve regina antiphon while languishing in Hell. Also represented here are six fifteenth-century carols, and an exquisite Agnus Dei from the Old Hall Manuscript.

Reviews:
‘A very special achievement … music of the very highest order, seldom recorded. Essential listening!’ (Gramophone) ‘A fascinating disc with superbly informative and enticing notes by Christopher Page’ (BBC Music Magazine) ‘At last, for the first time in over thirty years, we can hear this glorious work … as always, the booklet material is an absolute model of what these things should be; a self-contained lesson in medieval aesthetics, miraculously presented’ (BBC Record Review)