Victoria: Officium Defunctorum

VICTORIA Officium Defunctorum. O Domine Jesu Christe à 6. Domine non sum dignus à 4. Salve Regina à 6. Vadam et circuibo civitatem à 6 • Philippe Herreweghe, dir; Collegium Vocale Gent • ? PHI LPH 005 (59:40 Text and Translation) The anniversary of Tomás Luis de Victoria’s death has not been marked by new recordings to the extent that I anticipated, certainly not of the unrecorded works that might have been welcome. This is the third version of his last masterpiece to appear recently (see Fanfare 35:2 and 35:6), but strong competition goes back to Harry Christophers (29:3), David Hill (11:2; CD in 11:3), and Peter Phillips (11: 2). Philippe Herreweghe has the credentials to challenge the competition, using a vocal ensemble with two voices to a part (three on the bass line), placing him directly up against Christophers and Phillips. Although I do not have a single Victoria recording by Herreweghe, I did not doubt his sympathy for the music. The Lebanese chur