Matthew Best: Corydon Singers - Villa-Lobos: Missa Sao Sebastiao & other sacred music

Sacred choral music by Brazil�s most famous composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos, performed by one of Hyperion�s best-loved recording groups.These works were written as part of Villa-Lobos�s grand plan to revitalize music education in his native country. The human voice, an instrument acquired free of charge by every person in the nation, was seen by Villa-Lobos as the principal performing medium, particularly in massed choral form. Canto orfe�nico (choral singing) became the order of the day. Among the performances Villa-Lobos directed was the Brazilian premiere of Palestrina�s Missa Papae Marcelli. This led to him to write his own a cappella Mass, Missa S�o Sebasti�o, St Sebastian being the patron saint of Rio de Janeiro, the major work on this album.In fact the Missa S�o Sebasti�o had not been a sudden isolated instance of sacred composition from Villa-Lobos. From his earliest years as a serious composer he had written many motets. The Corydon Singers perform a rich selection of these.