Magnificat was formed in 1991 by its conductor, Philip Cave, to explore the rich diversity of choral music from the last five centuries. The ensemble specialises in the restoration and performance of neglected choral masterpieces of the 16th and 17th centuries. Magnificat ranges in size from four to forty voices and performs a wide range of music, both a cappella and with ensembles of period instruments.
In association with Linn Records, Magnificat has undertaken many recording projects of music from ‘The Golden Age'. The first of these comprises motets by Gesualdo, Guerrero, Josquin, Rebelo and Victoria together with Allegri's Miserere and Palestrina's Stabat mater. A highly acclaimed recording of Victoria's Officium Defunctorum of 1605, named a 1997 Critics' Choice by Gramophone Magazine and chosen by The Rough Guide as one of its ‘100 Essential Classical CDs', was followed by a disc of music by the neglected Spanish master, Philippe Rogier, including the Missa Ego sum qui sum.
Magnificat's recording of Thomas Tallis' forty-part motet Spem in alium was hailed as "quite the best recording" by Gramophone Magazine. The disc was recently selected as the BBC Radio 3 recommended performance of Tallis' Lamentations of Jeremiah, and it includes the four-part Mass and a selection of Latin motets. The ensemble has also recorded a CD of Palestrina's twenty-nine motets from the Song of Songs.
Visit the Magnificat website for more information: www.chorworks.com/magnificat/
Free podcasts are available on the Magnificat website: www.chorworks.com/podcasts/
Early Music Review'Very highly recommended.'
more >>BBC Music Magazine
'Byrd's eight-part Quomodo cantabinus unfurls majestically, ravishing the ear.'
more >>International Record Review'The programme is as comforting and pleasing to the intellect as the music is the soul'
more >>Pizzicato'...you will discover a heritage rich with emotion.'
more >>Gramophone'The blend and ensemble of the voices is beyond reproach.'
more >>Allmusic.Com'beautifully sung'
more >>The Irish Times'such faithful thoroughness'
more >>The Independent'the blend is beautifully relaxed and natural.'
more >>The Observer'Pass it over at your peril.'
more >>Classic FMConnoisseur’s Choice
more >>Music Web International'This is another triumph for Magnificat and Linn.'
more >>Music Media Monthly'One of the most beautiful discs to cross my desk this year....Very highly recommended'.
more >>The Consort'Such a polished performance by this well-blended group of voices makes very pleasurable listening.'
more >>Deutschen SchallplattenkritikBest of 2012: 'Zwei seiner retrospektiv den Renaissancestil verklärenden Messen hat das englische Vokalensemble Magnificat unter der Leitung von Philip Cave aufgenommen – mit homogenem, sonorem Klang, der das dichte Stimmengeflecht freilegt und dennoch der Musik nichts von ihrer energischen Vitalität nimmt. Eine lohnenswerte Entdeckung!'
more >>BBC Music Magazine'Magnificat's cast list is about as good as it gets...'
more >>Fanfare'The choral sound is extraordinarily coherent...clearly Cave and Magnificat are the team for this repertory.'
more >>Sound and MusicA nice review from Sound and Music
more >>Pizzicatomore >>American Record Guide'Vocal control and intonation are exemplary'.
more >>SA-CD.net
'...this is a luminous performance...'
more >>International Record Review'This is a superb, vibrant disc of some first-rate music...'
more >>musica Dei donum'not to be missed by anyone'
more >>Gramophone'...a fine recital.'
more >>Audiophile Audition
'...the whole series is warmly encouraged on all.'
more >>The Sunday Times"The sound these singers make is exquisite..."
more >>MusicWeb International"The excellence of the performances and recording is matched by the booklet of notes, texts and translations."
more >>AllMusic.com‘Magnificat delivers clear, stirring performances…for fans of the polychoral style of the late Baroque this recording is likely to come as a major revelation.’
more >>Audiophile Audition"Another exceptionally worthy and virtually unknown Renaissance composer emerges from the dust heap of history—to wonderful effect."
more >>Fanfare'Cave achieves a marvelous ensemble with these forces...heartily recommended.'
more >>Sonograma MagazineA great review from the Spanish Sonograma Magazine
more >>ClassicaA review from the French magazine Classica
more >>Audio Visual Club of Atlanta'By tastefully enriching and illuminating the harmony...they reinforce its glowing qualities.'
more >>Audiophilia.com'...this performance confirms their place in the very front rank of Early Music practitioners...'
more >>Klassik.com'...hervorragender englischer Consortsänger, kontinuierlich hohe Qualität...'
more >>BBC Music Magazine...a glorious jamboree of instruments doubling and decorating the vocal lines...'
more >>The Scotsman"[A] delicious mix of South European polychoral textures and the seamless polyphony of the north."
more >>SA-CD.net"A lovely and thoroughly engaging disc from Magnificat..."
more >>MusicWeb International'This is a worthy - wonderful, even - follow-up to the earlier Magnificat recording of Rogier'
more >>The Huffington Post"The performances are delivered with the right blend of musical precision and spiritual haze..."
more >>The Oxford Times (Live)'This concert was a real treat; an evening of wonderful, luscious sounds from a highly accomplished ensemble.'
more >>The Guardian'The works on what is Magnificat's second disc of Rogier's music for Linn show how the composer's style...'
more >>International Record Review'The excellent recording...is very precise and revealing.'
more >>musicweb-international.commy version of choice for this highly-charged music
more >>Early Music ReviewI can thoroughly recommend this very fine recording
more >>Audiophile AuditionFive stars - my whole-hearted, highest recommendation
more >>Independent on SundayA thick and rich sound which creates a vivid performance
more >>Atlanta Audio SocietyAn intimate and remarkable recording of music by the Thomas Tallis, the "father of English church music"
more >>New-Classics.co.ukAn inspired performance of this breathtaking piece of music
more >>GramophoneAn outstanding performance of Thomas Tallis's Spem in alium provides a powerful cornerstone for a superbly conceived and executed programme.
more >>Early Music ReviewThis is a lovely disc, a worthy addition to this group's impressive discography...
more >>GramophoneThis is, if I may be forgiven for employing a quartet of over-used adjectives, a lush, glorious, moving, sublime disc.
more >>BBC MusicStunning.
more >>Gramophone 'Soundings'...very plausible.
more >>