Sebastian de Vivanco: Missa pro defunctis; Motets

Spanish Renaissance polyphony has a reputation for florid, intricate contrapuntal textures and dark colours. Sebastián de Vivanco (c. 1551-1622), born in Ávila but active for most of his life in Salamanca, stands apart from his contemporaries: his music explores a much wider range of colours and techniques than that of, say, Victoria. In his more experimental and dramatic motets, some of which are heard here, he points the way towards the new Baroque. But, in the calm sobriety of his Requiem, now reconstructed and recorded for the first time, he honours the Iberian tradition of unhurried chant-driven polyphony, all the more moving for it's uncluttered clarity and exquisitely lovely chordal sequences.