Victoria: Lamentations of Jeremiah

Considered by many scholars to be the greatest of all Spanish composers, Tomas Luis de Victoria was born in 1549. He studied for the priesthood in Rome with the Jesuits and one of his music teachers may have been the great Palestrina. He was ordained and served in various music and clerical positions under papal auspices in Italy before returning to his native Spain in the late 1500s. Written to be sung during Holy Week, Victoria s nine Lamentations of Jeremiah contain some of his most intense, mystical and moving music and rank alongside the Requiem as one of his greatest achievements. They would not have been sung as a set, but rather divided as appropriate among several services. This new recording celebrates several important milestones. Not only is it a rare collection of the complete Lamentations, it also marks the 30th anniversary of the first Gimell recording sessions in March 1980 and is the Tallis Scholars fiftieth CD.