While the latter half of the 16th century saw the first stirrings of the Baroque, this period also witnessed the creation of the finest cathedrals in sound, with their foundations in the distant Gothic era of music. Composers vied with each other in daring and ingenuity, presenting works with 12, 16, 24 and even, in the case of Tallis' famous Spem in alium, 40 different voices.

 

Huelgas-Ensemble celebrates its 35th anniversary with a spectacular selection of these works, recorded live without a safety net. This recording begins not with a piece from the Renaissance, however, but with a work by contemporary
composer Willem Ceuleers (b.1963) to a text by Petrarch. Written for 35 voices, to mark 35 years since the founding of the Huelgas Ensemble, Ceuleers uses the group's name as a soggetto cavato, with each letter corresponding to a note: B (H) - C (ut = U) - E - A (la = L) - G - A - B (si = S). The theme thus formed is quoted 35 times in the course of the piece. His composition is entirely built on the old contrapuntal techniques of canon, imitation, quotations of a cantus firmus, false relations and polychorality, with now and then a wink in the direction of the more adventurous composers of the Renaissance, making Nomen mortis a truly timeless work.