Format: Music CD, Hyperion Records. Hard to find Classical Music CD. Victoria's potential was such that while still a teenager he was sent from his home in Spain to study music in Rome. There he encountered an incredibly rich musical environment that included many of Europe's finest musicians, including Palestrina. Although Victoria wasn't one of the more prolific composers of his time, many of his masses and motets stand among the greatest and most beautiful masterpieces of the late Renaissance. Rather than relying on elaborate structures or unusual harmonies, Victoria mastered the smaller details of melodic shape and the use of contrasting homophonic and polyphonic textures to create and resolve tension and to set and maintain mood. Examples of these techniques abound on this award-winning recording--just listen to the intensely emotional Agnus Dei of the O Quam Gloriosum mass and the effective changes of mood in the Credo of the Ave Maris Stella mass. --David Vernier Music CD Classical music CD Hyperion Classical-Music