Various works on The Tallis Scholars' tour programme were composed by Spanish composer Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599). His works will be featured alongside other Renaissance greats such as Josquin des Prez, Tomás Luis de Victoria, and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Biography
Francisco Guerrero
(1528-1599)
Guerrero was born and died in Seville. He stands alongside Tomás Luis de Victoria and Cristóbal de Morales as one of the most celebrated Spanish composers of the Renaissance. However, unlike Victoria and Morales, who spent large portions of their careers in Italy, Guerrero spent most of his time in his native Spain.
Guerrero's music was both sacred and secular. He wrote numerous secular songs and instrumental pieces, in addition to masses, motets, and Passions. He was able to capture an astonishing variety of moods in his music, from ecstasy to despair, longing, joy, and devotional stillness; his music remained popular for hundreds of years, especially in cathedrals in Latin America.
Missa de la batalla escoutez
The Tallis Scholars have two movements from Guerrero's Missa de la batalla escoutez on its tour programme: the Gloria and the Credo.
The Missa de la batalla escoutez derives material from the song La Guerre by Clément Janequin, an extended piece that depicts the sounds of battle in an unusually dramatic way. Guerrero's mass tempers the exuberance of his source, using passages from the beginning of the song as his main material - though the rapid declamation of the original can be detected in the 'Qui tollis' section of the Gloria.
In addition to excerpts from the Missa de la batalla ecoutez, The Tallis Scholars will also perform the 'Sanctus' from the Missa l'homme armé, which we introduced in yesterday's post.
- VIDEO: The Tallis Scholars Summer Academy (2012) performs the 'Gloria' from Guerrero's Missa de la batalla escoutez, conducted by David Woodcock.