Odhecaton, Paolo da Col
Odhecaton make their debut on Arcana with the Missa Papae Marcelli by Palestrina, a recording sure to become a benchmark for this sacred masterwork of contrapuntal and formal perfection, exemplifying the important compositional techniques of its time.
For the first time in recording history, Odhecaton has recreated a hypothetical performance at the time of Pope Marcellus II. With an ensemble of about 20 singers, Odhecaton comes close to the formation of the pontifical chapel which, between 1510 and 1585, numbered between 20 and 36 singers and employing only adult male voices. The performance places the Missa Papae Marcelli in a liturgical context which emphasises its original function, reconstructing a hypothetical liturgy (the Easter Mass) with music as it might have been celebrated at the Sistine Chapel.
Recorded September 2009, Chiesa parrocchiale S. Rocco, Miasino (Novara)
- Anerio, F: Christe resurgens
- Palestrina: Coenantibus illis
- Palestrina: Laudate Dominum
- Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli
- Palestrina: O sacrum convivium
- Palestrina: Terra tremuit

The aspect of the performance that may first strike most listeners is the tone quality of the voices. These singers have a vocal production that is consciously not the smooth, white-voiced style we encounter in The Tallis Scholars-style performances of Palestrina...I am not sure I have ever heard a Palestrina motet sound so erotically charged.