Massimo Palombella & Sistine Chapel Choir - Veni Domine: Advent & Christmas At The Sistine Chapel (2017) [24/96]

In a new release of music for Advent and Christmas, multiple Grammy award-winning mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli sings with the pope’s Sistine Chapel Choir.

It marks the first time one of the oldest choirs in the world has issued a recording with a female singer, Mgr Massimo Palombella, director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, told Catholic News Service.

Produced by Deutsche Grammophon and Universal Music Italia, the album marks the fourth joint venture between the music companies and the papal choir; the other CDs include “Habemus Papam” and “Cantate Domino.”

Like “Cantate Domino,” “Veni Domine” was recorded in the Sistine Chapel not only for its rich acoustic effects, but also because the musical compositions chosen had originally been composed to be sung in the chapel for papal celebrations, the monsignor told reporters.

The one change adjustment made to the chapel was that carpets were put down to improve the sound quality, said Mirko Gratton, head of the classical and jazz music division at Universal Music Italia.

All of the musical selections, Mgr Palombella said, were taken from the choir’s vast ancient archives at the Vatican Library. Three of the Renaissance-era compositions have never been performed in modern times, he added.

The pontifical choir, which traces its history back to the 1470s, is dedicated to making its music known beyond the walls of Vatican City and to helping people experience Christ through sacred music, he said.



Tracklist:
01. Traditional: Introit "Gaudete in Domino semper"
02. Pérotin: "Beata viscera Mariae Virginis"
03. Traditional: Hymn "Conditor alme siderum"
04. Desprez: Motet "Missus est Gabriel"
05. Palestrina: Motet "Canite tuba in Sion-Rorate, caeli, desuper"
06. Nanino: Motet "Hodie nobis caelorum Rex-Gloria in excelsis Deo"
07. Palestrina: Motet "Hodie Christus natus est"
08. Mouton: Motet "Queramus cum pastoribus"
09. Victoria: Motet "Quem vidistis, pastores-Dicite, quidnam vidistis"
10. Palestrina: Motet "Dies sanctificatus illuxit nobis"
11. Allegri: "Nasceris, alme puer"
12. Traditional: "Christe, Redemptor omnium"
13. Victoria: "O magnum mysterium"
14. Clemens non Papa: Motet "Magi veniunt ab oriente-Magi, videntes stellam"
15. Palestrina: Offertory "Reges Tharsis et insulae"
16. Palestrina: Offertory "Diffusa est gratia"

Personnel:
Sistine Chapel Choir
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano
Massimo Palombella, direction