This second collection of Music from Renaissance Portugal is a worthy successor to ‘Polyphony from the Royal monastery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra’ (Herald, 1/94), with more works by Duarte Lobo, Pedro de Cristo and others, all of whom would have held posts either in Lisbon’s great Cathedral, in the Royal Chapel, in São Vincente de Fora or in Braga Cathedral.

Apart from the outstanding beauty of the music itself and the high quality of both the performances and the recording, the collection is of particular interest to anyone keen to know more about the history of sacred music in Portugal in the early 17th century, not least for the insights it gives into the contemporary use of alternatim, the interweaving of chant and polyphony.

One point of interest: the version of the liturgical chant is that edited by Duarte Lobo himself, displaying characteristics of the curtailed, semi-metrical revisions recommended by the grammarians. Examples are the processional chant ‘Duo Seraphim’, the Communion chant ‘Domine memorabor’ the alternate verses of the Asperges, and those from the two responseries sung during the Stations for All Souls, ‘Memento mei Deus’ and ‘Hei mihi Domine’, the first and the fifth from a series of 10 little memorials for the dead, both also sung at Matins.

Duarte Lobo’s polyphonic Mass movements from the Ordinary and the various motets, some replacing missing chants of the Proper, (the anonymous ‘Alleluia Cantate’, and Pero de Gamboa’s ‘O Bone Jesu’ at the Offertory), all provide plenty of scope for the skills of this versatile choral group. I particularly enjoyed the cascading phrases and the exuberant syncopation of the ‘Alleluia’, not forgetting the light texture and clarity of Lobo’s ‘Benedictus’. Another gem is his 11-voiced Salve Regina, a perfect example of contrasting a group of three solo singers with two four-part choirs.

We have Owen Rees to thank for discovering so many hidden treasures, and for bringing them fresh to our ears through his transcriptions. Thanks also to Stephen Farr, who adds yet another dimension to the recital with his well-chosen selection of liturgical organ pieces.