Requiem - Music for Phillip II (1998)

"This CD from the Gabrieli Consort offers a reconstruction of a Requiem Mass as might have been held in Toledo Cathedral in honour of Philip II who died four centuries ago. Fans of the group will already be familiar with the mix of chant and polyphony of various kinds, although, given the nature of the “momentous ceremonial event” being re-created in “form and ambience”, the performance is more restrained in the forces used: the only minstrel on this disc is William Lyons on the muted bajon, the Spanish dulcian which was commonly used in cathedral choirs throughout the peninsula from about the mid-sixteenth century onwards. As usual, Paul McCreesh has drawn on scholarly expertise in order to establish as closely as possible the liturgical practice of the time, with appropriate chant and other aspects of the liturgy. The disc ends with a true masterpiece that was written for Philip’s exequies: Alonso Lobo’s Versa est in luctum." (gramophone.co.uk)