Officium Defunctorum

Description

The Officium defunctorum by Tomás Luis de Victoria, published in 1605, is one of the masterpieces of Renaissance music, which still moves us with its austerity and expressive power. It was composed "in the manner of a swan song" for the funeral of the composer's patroness, Empress Maria of Austria, sister of Philip II and widow of Emperor Maximilian II. For the first time in a recording, La Grande Chapelle and Schola Antiqua place the work back in its liturgical context, restoring the two original days: the vigil of the dead and the mass that concluded with the rite of absolution. The funeral rites celebrated in Madrid in 1603 are evoked through the respect for the original performing forces, the inclusion of the lectio, responsories, and psalms written by Victoria himself, and the use of plainchant drawn from period sources. This interpretation brings us closer in a new way to one of the most important dynastic ceremonies of the Spanish Habsburgs in the early 17th century.