St. Martin’s Chamber Choir: “Tenebrae: Darkness Audible”

Often called “the Spanish Palestrina,” Renaissance composer Tomas Luis de Victoria wrote in a style darker and more passionate than that of his much-revered master Palestrina. This is exhibited most strongly in Victoria’s motets and responsories for Lent and Holy Week, performed here by a Cameo group of 12 singers. As chaplain and organist to the dowager Empress Mari of Spain, Victoria composed some of the Renaissance’s most powerfully emotional music.