Tenebrae

This Easter is a bit different from my usual mad choir overload! For once I don't have a full four days of choir in a row leading up to Easter - just the one. I guess this is because the Cathedral Singers isn't the main choir of St Pat's, so the choirboys will be doing the bulk of the work instead. It's nice because I get time off when everyone else does, but it's also a shame because Holy Week music is my favourite in the church year.

Tonight we're singing Tenebrae for Good Friday. We'll be doing some of the familiar Tenebrae motets by Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611), and the chant Vexilla regis. I know these well from my years in St Mary's choir.

Here are two of the Victoria motets, O vos omnes and Caligaverunt:

For comparison, here are two rather different settings of the same texts by Carlo Gesualdo (1560-1613):

Because I can't resist, here are a couple of Baroque pieces for Holy Week. The famous eight-part Crucifixus by Antonio Lotti (1667-1740), which I had the pleasure of singing with the Tudor Consort a couple of years ago:

And the Première Leçon from Leçons de Ténèbres, Office du Vendredi Saint by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704):

Have a great Easter weekend, everyone!