In 2018, Ricercar dedicated a 3-CD box set to the work of Jacques Arcadelt (1507-1568). It was shared between Leonardo García Alarcón, the Namur Chamber Choir and the Cappella Mediterranea, for a CD of motets and a CD of madrigals, and Doulce Mémoire, for a CD of songs. An admirable polyphonist, Arcadelt is considered one of the creators of the Italian madrigal and this box set finally did justice to a somewhat forgotten composer. Stimulated by the exploration, Leonardo García Alarcón continued the journey five years later with a mass (the box contained none). Of the three who survived, he chose the Missa Noe Noe and integrates it into the context of a Christmas liturgy. The context is an orchestral version of Noe Noe by Jean Mouton (author of this motet which gives its name and theme to the Mass) and motets by Arcadelt and his contemporary Josquin Desprez (impressive Benedicta is coelorum regina). The purity of the voices (without aestheticizing angelism) and the beauty of the lines make this record spellbinding.
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