19. Francisco Guerrero - Battle Mass (1582)

Recording

Title: Battle Mass - Missa de La Batalla Escoutez
Performer: Westminster Cathedral Choir/ His Majesty's Sagbutts and Coronetts
Director: James O'Donnell
Year: 1998
Length: 29 minutes

Review

We are going through a phase of some innovation right now, after all of those motets. Here we have a Mass, based on a secular song, this isn't a first as we saw with Taverner's Western Wynde Mass, but this one is much more focused, more like Palestrina than other polyphonists.

This particular recording also has some instrumentation to it, there is an historical bass for this and it does make the music more interesting. It is however, extremely subdued instrumentation, more like a bass line than a part of the main melody. Nevertheless it does add texture.

In the and however it isn't particularly flabbergasting, it is pretty and all but sounds much like what you would hear at church on Easter Sunday. This in itself might be a sign of how intemporal the music is.

Track Highlights

1. Agnus Dei
2. Gloria
3. Benedictus
4. Credo

Final Grade

7/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

After several decades of working and traveling throughout Spain and Portugal, sometimes in the employ of emperor Maximilian II, he went to Italy for a year (1581-1582) where he published two books of his music. After returning to Spain for several years, he decided to travel to the Holy Land, which he finally was able to do in 1589. His adventure included visits to Damascus, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem; on the return trip his ship was twice attacked by pirates, who threatened his life, stole his money, and held him for ransom. His ransom must have been paid, for he was able to return to Spain; unfortunately he had no money, and endured a series of misfortunes including some time spent in debtor's prison; at last his old employer at Seville Cathedral extricated him, and he resumed working for them. His book on his adventurous visit to the Holy Land was published in 1590 and was a popular success (it is reasonable to suppose that Cervantes knew it). At the end of the decade he planned one more trip to the Holy Land but unfortunately he died in the plague of 1599 in Seville, before he was able to depart.

Music from Guerrero's Requiem: