Lassus - Lamentationes Jeremiæ Prophetæ

The Times 5 Stars 2006.


During the last thirty years of his life, Orlande de Lassus (1532–1594) was the most celebrated composer in Europe. From the time that he took up the duties of maestro di cappella in the court of the Dukes of Bavaria at Munich, he began to be called ‘prince of musicians’ and ‘the divine Orlande’. In this he outstripped the other musical giants of the day, Palestrina, Victoria, and Byrd. The pieces selected for this recording represent Lassus’s treatment of the theme of death during this mature period. The first group considers the death of Christ; the second, the death of the Christian.