Although it seems that he was born in Rome, Giovanni Felice Sances received his training as a singer and as a composer in Venice. He went on to make his career in the service of three successive emperors in Vienna, entering the Imperial Chapel and going on to become one of the principal composers of that venerable institution. The sacred works recorded here are primarily from his first volume of motets; they reveal the talents of a composer who was well acquainted with not only the most modern compositional techniques but also with polyphonic style. His training as a singer also enabled him to write for the human voice with undeniable skill, giving as much pleasure to the singers themselves as to those who listen.