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GRAMOPHONE (09/2016)
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Hyperion 
CDA68141



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Reviewer: Fabrice Fitch

Bernardino de Ribera (c1520-?1580) is perhaps best known as the early mentor of Victoria, who he taught during his stint as choirmaster at Ávila. Little of his own music survives, but this recording presents a substantial proportion of what does, much of it preserved in a choirbook copied at Toledo after the musician had moved there from Ávila. Devoted to Ribera’s works alone, the source was subsequently so wilfully damaged that a substantial proportion of its contents is lost or has necessitated reconstruction. This  labour of love, and the championing of Ribera’s cause generally, was undertaken by one of the pre-eminent scholars of Iberian music, Bruno Turner, who gives a touching account of it in the booklet-notes to this CD.

As Turner himself admits, there’s not enough variety in what survives to claim Ribera as a top-flight composer, but his music is well made in the best sense, and while much of it may be reminiscent of other composers it is not merely derivative. The lament motets Vox in Rama and Rex autem David are worth singling out, and the three surviving Magnificat settings (part of a much larger set) are resourceful within a purposefully narrow stylistic range. Led by David Skinner and two-dozen strong, De Profundis sound robust and solemn rather than mournful, their all-male line-up a welcome change from today’s treble-dominated norm in larger ensembles. While the music gives little scope for versatility, these solid, well-judged performances elevate Ribera from a mere footnote in music history to something more substantial. Victoria, perhaps, might be proud of his early master.

 

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