Tenebrae . Nigel Short

Spain is the inspiration behind this concert given by Tenebrae. It has become a trademark of this slick British Chamber choir to interpret Renaissance music and combine it with contemporary works. The young British composer Joby Talbot (1971) was commissioned by Tenebrae to write 'Path of Miracles', inspired by the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. In this piece, Talbot manages to build up a marvellous tension. The libretto was put together by Robert Dickinson, who combines personal reflection with existing medieval texts. The material of these texts originates mainly from the 'Codex Calixtinus', which also forms a bridge to the rest of the programme. This codex, which is also known by the name 'Liber Sancti Jacobi', is a fabulous testimony to the political, social, cultural, religious, musical and intellectual life of the Middle Ages. Tenebrae presents three choruses from this work, along with motets from such sixteenth-century Spanish composers as Alonso Lobo, Mario Guerrero and Tomas Luis de Victoria.