The sublime polyphony of Alonso Lobo (1555-1617) owes everything to the example of his teacher and mentor Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) but that’s not to say it lacks imagination or individuality. His six-part Missa Maria Magdalene is a gloriously rich and expansive setting that reinvents and embellishes its inspiration, Guerrero’s motet Maria Magdalene et altera Maria. Both are given rich and expressive accounts here by Westminster Cathedral Choir, with baritones and basses in particularly sonorous form. Lobo’s Lamentations, recently rescued from obscurity, offer a fine counterweight to all that exultation, Martin Baker drawing an exquisitely sung, serenely contemplative performance from his always-impressive choir.
