Reviewed by John Irvine

As the classical catalogue reaches saturation point with more and more recordings of the same old standards, it is with great thanks that we can turn to releases from the Hyperion record company, a company which specialises in little known or previously unrecorded repertoire. This release is part of a three CD collection released to coincide with Lisbon being the European City Of Culture for 1994. This disc focuses on the late 16th century flowering of church polyphonic music in Portugal. All of the pieces recorded here, save one, are first recordings of beautifully crafted devotional music hitherto hidden in the annals of time and now restored to music lovers by exemplary performances by A Capella Portuguesa, a vocal group who specialise in the performance of medieval and renaissance music from Portugal and Spain. I listened to the disc and was struck dumb by the beauty and spiritual power of the music. Words cannot describe the treasures in store for you and the delights to be found in this collection. Buy this and it is unlikely that you will ever regret it.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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