Lassus: The Alchemist - Vol. 2

On this, the second volume of Magnificat’s three-part project ‘Lassus: The Alchemist’, the ensemble explores the composer’s Magnificats based on motets. It is remarkable that, of Lassus’s thirty-five Magnificats based on polyphonic models, only eight draw musical inspiration from motets. But if these Magnificats are relatively few in number, their musical quality and impact are outsized. Whether in Praeter rerum seriem, where he expands Josquin’s motet into a formidable 250-bar Magnificat, or Aurora lucis rutilat, where he transforms his own Eastertide motet into a jubilant musical celebration, these works exemplify some of Lassus’s finest compositional achievements. Inspired by the lavish musical resources of the ducal chapel in Munich, where Lassus worked from 1557 until his death in 1594, this album brings together voices and instruments in diverse combinations, enhancing the richness and variety of the scoring.

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Magnificat Charlotte Ashley - soprano Amy Haworth - soprano Hugh Cutting - alto Guy Cutting - tenor Steven Harrold - tenor Nicholas Todd - tenor Benjamin Davies - baritone William Gaunt - bass Giles Underwood - bass Martin Bolterauer - cornet Clément Gester - cornet Maximilien Brisson - sackbut Susanna Defendi - sackbut Emily Saville - sackbut Henry Van Engen - sackbut William Lyons - dulcian Edward Higginbottom - organ Philip Cave - director