Renaissance Greatest Hits!
CRSP choir members are serious fans of Renaissance music and we recently polled our choristers as to what is their one favourite Renaissance choral piece. Choosing just one was massively difficult as there are so many amazing works! We started out with a long list of twelve and then a second round of voting produced the top five - all of which we have performed in the past.
Below is our list in order of the top voted ones and YouTube videos of exceptionally fine performances we recommend. Prepare to be transported to another world listening to these breathtakingly beautiful recordings showcasing the best of Renaissance choral music.
Thank you to all who responded on Social Media to add their own favourites not on our list. Scroll down to view an additional 3 popular pieces selected by our followers!
No. 1: Ne irascaris domine
by William Byrd, published in 1589
Our number one choice features a composer widely considered to be one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance and one of the greatest British composers, William Byrd had a huge influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent.
No. 2: Ecco mormorar l’onde
by Claudio Monteverdi, published ca. 1590
And now we go on to a piece by Monteverdi, another popular Renaissance composer. He was an Italian composer, string player, choirmaster, and priest. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered a crucial transitional figure between the Renaissance and Baroque periods of music history. This piece is from the Second Book of Madrigals (Il secondo libro de madrigali a cinque voci), published ca. 1590.
No. 3: O magnum mysterium
by Tomás Luis de Victoria, published in 1572
One more Renaissance heavy weight - Victoria was the most significant composer of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, and one of the best-regarded composers of sacred music in the late Renaissance, a genre to which he devoted himself exclusively.
No. 4: Sicut cervus
by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, published in 1604
Palestrina is one of Renaissance’s superstar composers. Sicut Cervus has always been one of the most familiar of Palestrina’s motets, frequently reprinted and anthologized since the nineteenth century, and justly held up as a model of Renaissance imitative polyphony, in this case expressive of serene but fervent spiritual yearning.
No. 5: Tu es petrus
by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c 1525 - 1594)
Another gem composed by Palestrina. A 6-part parody mass based on Palestrina's 6 voice setting of the "Tu es Petrus" biblical text.
3 More Favourites Chosen By Our Followers
Miserere mei deus
by Gregorio Allegri, composed c. 1638
Allegri was a Roman Catholic priest and Italian composer of the Roman School. The Miserere is one of the most often-recorded examples of late Renaissance music, although it was actually written during the chronological confines of the Baroque era; in this regard it is representative of the music of the Roman School of composers, who were stylistically conservative.
Composed around 1638, Miserere was the last and most famous of twelve falsobordone settings used at the Sistine Chapel since 1514. At some point, it became forbidden to transcribe the music and it was allowed to be performed only at those particular services at the Sistine Chapel, thus adding to the mystery surrounding it. According to legend, a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart heard this piece performed live and transcribed it through memory alone which led to the its publication in the 1770’s.
Spem in alium
by Thomas Tallis, composed c. 1570
Tallis was an English Renaissance composer who occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. He is considered one of England's greatest composers, and he is honoured for his original voice in English musicianship.
Spem in alium ( Latin for "Hope in any other") is a 40-part Renaissance motet for eight choirs of five voices each. It is considered by some critics to be the greatest piece of English early music. One of Tallis’ many fine compositions!
Lo how a rose e’er blooming
by Michael Praetorius, composed in 1609
Praetorius was a German composer, organist and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant hymns.
"Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" (literally "A rose has sprung up") is a Christmas carol and Marian Hymn of German origin. It is most commonly translated in English as "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming". This is a popular, well loved carol that has survived the centuries.