Lamentations for Maundy Thursday
Missa pro defunctis a 4 (Requiem)
Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes?
Magnificat secundi toni a 4
Amen dico vobis
Cum audisset Johannes
Ipse est qui post me
Omnis vallis
Quid hic statis?
Tua est potentia
Sitivit anima mea

There's a deep sense of devout contemplation, and a blissful stillness to the music of Portuguese composer Manuel Cardoso (1566-1650). A time when Renaissance music had reached its apogee, when ship trade allowed for the exchange of newly printed music, and scholarly institutions and royal courts sought to gain an upper hand, and prestige, by employing the services of the best composers and musicians from across Europe. The composers would study the music of their counterparts and not only emulate it, but strive to erect an ever higher polyphonic edifice on its plainchant foundation. Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons, Desprez, Lassus, Morales, Cardoso ... the list is exhaustive, all tried, in their own distinctive ways to tower above the rest, and the end result was remarkable music that still stands today as one of the highest achievements in human endeavour.

Besides the Tallis Scholars, who devoted a full album to the music of Cardoso, only odd pieces adorn a handful of collections featuring the vocal music of various Renaissance composers, so this is a welcome addition to the catalogue. And who better than the now ten year old ensemble Cupertinos and their director Luís Toscano, deeply involved in the research, study and elucidation of Portuguese Renaissance music, to bring out the rich, multi-voiced beauty of Cardoso's sacred works. This ensemble's blend and dynamic balance is exemplary, which enhances this composer's highly countrapuntal writing. The recording well captures the open and airy acoustics of the Basilica do Bom Jesus in Braga.