Ave Virgo sanctissima - Francisco Guerrero, John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers
2. 'Ave Virgo sanctissima'
From the album ‘Hail! Queen of Heaven’
Composer Francisco Guerrero
Conductor John Rutter
Choir The Cambridge Singers
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LYRICS:
Ave Virgo sanctissima,
Dei Mater piissima,
Maris stella clarissima;
Salve semper gloriosa,
Margarita pretiosa,
Sicut lilium formosa,
Nitens, olens velut rosa.
(Anonymous medieval poem)
Hail, most holy Virgin,
Most pure Mother of God,
Brightest star of the sea;
Hail, ever-glorious one,
Precious pearl,
Fair as the lily,
Shining and fragrant as the rose.
Ave Virgo sanctissima
Among Guerrero's 150 or so published motets, 'Ave Virgo sanctissima' (1566) enjoyed exceptional popularity. In fact it is slightly unusual among Guerrero's motets, its two top voice parts (placed left and right on this recording) being in strict canon throughout, the second exactly echoing the first at two bars' distance.
Hail! Queen of Heaven
This recording, made in the architecturally and acoustically glorious setting of the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral by the 28 mixed voices of the Cambridge Singers, gathers together 21 examples of the extraordinary wealth of choral music inspired by the Virgin Mary, from Gregorian chant to the 20th-century sounds of Gustav Holst, Herbert Howells, Pierre Villette, Igor Stravinsky and Giles Swayne.
John Rutter, English composer and conductor, is associated with choral music throughout the world. His recordings with the Cambridge Singers (the professional chamber choir he set up in 1983) have reached a wide global audience, many of them featuring his own music in definitive versions. Among John’s best-known choral works are Gloria, Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, and Visions, together with many church anthems, choral songs and Christmas carols.
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