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A sumptuous Renaissance epic in surround sound, Alessandro Striggio's 40-part setting of the Latin mass, travelled all around Europe as a musical ambassador and showcase for powerful 16th-century Italian rulers. Set for five choirs of eight voices each, the Mass had been feted by kings and emperors but then vanished from view for four centuries. It was only re-discovered a few decades ago when musicologists tracked it to French archives. The first modern-day performance was given at the Proms in 2007 and this year it was the turn of the acclaimed French early music specialists Le Concert Spirituel to fill the Royal Albert Hall with the opulent sounds of Striggio's work.

The concert is introduced by Andrew McGregor and Suzanne Aspden.

Broadcast programme:

Alessandro Striggio - Mass ‘Sopra Ecco sì beato giorno’
Interspersed with:
Domenico Massenzio - Ave Maria caelorum
Francesco Corteccia - Bonum est confiteri
Pierluigi da Palestrina - Peccavimus (Instrumental)
Francesco Corteccia - Alleluia
Pierluigi da Palestrina - Beata est Virgo Maria (Instrumental)
Pierluigi da Palestrina - Pater noster (Instrumental)
Domenico Massenzio - Filiae Jerusalem

Performers: Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet, conductor

(Photo: Le Concert Spirituel at the 2025 ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms. Credit: ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½/Mark Allan)