GARRO: Masses (CD)
- Artists:
- Cupertinos,
- Luís Toscano
$21.99
Cupertinos open a major new chapter in their pioneering multi-year exploration of the buried treasures of Portuguese Renaissance polyphony. ‘Buried’ is the operative word here: vast swathes of this music were destroyed in the calamitous 1755 Lisbon earthquake, with the catalogue of King John IV’s 1649 music library suggesting that we have barely skimmed the surface of what was lost.
For three decades the composer Francisco Garro presided over the prestigious Royal Chapel in Lisbon, publishing vital choirbooks from which the present Masses and motets have now been reassembled.
A celebrated album of polyphony by Cardoso won the 2019 Gramophone Award for Cupertinos; albums dedicated to Duarte Lobo, Cristo and Magalhães followed, but this latest is perhaps the most startling discovery to date.
This album is made up nearly entirely of first commercial recordings.