STELLA DEL NOSTRO MAR

Past and present reflections of the Marian inspiration

1 Ave Maria, virgo serena (Frater Petrus)
2 Ave fuit prima salus (Jean Mouton)
3 Salve regina (Anonymous)
4 Sancta mater istud agas (F. de Peñalosa)
5 Alma redemptoris mater (Heinrich Isaac)
6 Stella del nostro mar (Carlo Galante)
7 Virgo prudentissima (Ludwig Senfl)
8 Ave Maria, gratia plena (Adrian Willaert)
9 Ave regina caelorum (Anonymous)
10 Sub tuum praesidium (Heinrich Isaac)
11 Gaude virgo mater Christi (Josquin Des Prez)
12 O Maria, virgo pia (Jean Mouton)
13 O praeclarissima (Heinrich Isaac)
14 Benedicta et venerabilis (Yakov Gubanov)

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About this CD

After completing their original trilogy devoted to Guillaume Dufay (two volumes of motets and one of chansons) and before setting out on their next large-scale project, Giuseppe Maletto and Cantica Symphonia reduced their ensemble to its vocal core and arranged themselves in front of the microphones - in order to make what quite possibly will be the most personal disc of their careers. The result was a series of intimate sessions made across 2007 and 2008, all of them in that acoustic in which they have been rehearsing, performing and recording for many years (the Piedmontese church of the "Colletto" - the scene of plenty of La Venexiana's recordings too, and whose quincentenary is currently being commemorated), with Maletto and his singers delivering for us an anthology of motets and laude inspired by the Virgin Mary, many of them hitherto little-known. To the Renaissance compositional voices of Mouton, Isaac, Willaert and Peñalosa are joined for this occasion two living composers, Carlo Galante and Yakov Gubanov, with works written especially for Cantica Symphonia. An excellent and original a capella disc, performed by one of today’s most invigorating early music ensembles.