Here's the end of Clemens non Papa's setting of O magnum mysterium. It'll be a joyful end to our concert tomorrow - a varied programme of Flemish music for the Feast of the Nativity. Do come! Sat 27th, 7:30pm, Little St Mary's. Tix bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas & on the door.

Mouton's famous Nesciens mater. Something quiet, consoling, and beautiful. A lullaby. It features in our concert this Saturday in Cambridge - Flemish music for the Feast of the Nativity. If this sounds attractive then do please join us! Tickets at bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas

Concert's getting close - just 3 days away! Can we tempt you? Will we see you there? Tickets and details from bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas

A quick Q&A w Stephen Rice who is directing our concert of Flemish Xmas music on Saturday - a really varied programme from the quietly beautiful (Mouton's Nesciens mater) to the joyful & virtuosic (Brumel's Nato canunt omnia) and everything inbetween! Tix - bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas

CONCERT THIS SATURDAY! Flemish music for the Feast of the Nativity. A fabulous (& rarely-performed) piece by Josquin, a stunningvirtuoso motet by Brumel, & gorgeousness aplenty from Clemens, Gombert, Mouton, and the gang. All directed by star conductor Stephen Rice! Tickets from bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas

Rehearsing is *hard work*, so having Fitzbillies next door comes in handy.

Back in the old office to rehearse a programme of gorgeous Flemish music for (whisper it…!) Christmas. Gig next Saturday. Tix from bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas. Go on, give yourself an early present!

Morales's motet Circumderunt me (the opening track from our new album) has had very nearly 10,000 streams on Spotify. That's either lots of people who like it, or just possibly one person who really *really* likes it.

(Just under) 2 weeks to go until our highly-unseasonal concert of Flemish music for Xmas & the Festive Season, directed by Stephen Rice. There'll be no carols or community singing, just wall to wall Flemish loveliness from Clemens non Papa, Gombert, Josquin, Mouton, and others. bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas

De Profundis concert approaching! On Sat 27th we're performing a concert of Renaissance Flemish music for Xmas. (We know it's not Xmas yet, but otherwise we never get to do this stuff!) Music by Clemens, Gombert, Josquin, Brumel, Mouton, and de Monte. Info & tix: bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas See you there!

Doh! With all the New Album fuss, I quite forgot to post yesterday. A shame because yesterday was the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast for which Ribera wrote his great motet Gloriosae virginis Mariae. Ahh, never mind. Let's hear it anyway!

What a great start to the weekend! Last night we found out that our Requiem disc has entered the UK Specialist Classical Chart at number 5, and today Presto Classical listed the disc as one of their four Presto Team Choices: "a wonderful recording which could well be their best yet." Woo-hoo!

Our new album is available to stream or buy from the dedicated Hyperion streaming site. www.hyperion-streaming.co.uk/release/cda6... Or, if you prefer... www.amazon.co.uk/Morales-Requ... www.prestomusic.com/classical/pr...

Obviously a new CD is exciting news, but we've also got a concert coming up on Sat 27th - Flemish music for Xmas & the Festive Season, conducted by Stephen Rice at Little St Mary's. Tickets from bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas. You can come to the concert, say hello, and pick up a copy of the CD!

We're Amazon's most popular Requiem! (File under: Odd Things To Celebrate)

It was on this day in 1535 that Pope Paul III appointed Morales to the Papal Choir. For the next ten years Morales' work would mostly be singing (and composing) for services conducted by the Pope, usually in the Sistine Chapel. And it was for this space that Morales wrote his Requiem for 5 voices.

It's Release Day! Volume 2 of our Morales series is out today. <Put amusing Morales-related witticism here> Buying it from Amazon, Presto Classical, or Hyperion Records will help our UK Chart Position. (Yes, really!) We'd be awfully grateful.

Release Day is tomorrow! Ordering from Amazon, Presto Classical, or the Hyperion Records website will help our position in the UK Specialist Classical Chart. Thank you!

It's 2 days to go until our Morales Requiem album is released! But, first, we must pay our respects to Josquin Desprez who died on this day in 1521. The greatest hit of Josquin's lifetime was his song Mille regretz and Morales based a fabulous mass on the tune.

The countdown begins - 3 days to go until the release of volume 2 of our Morales series! You can pre-order the album now on Amazon and Presto Classical, or will be able to buy/download it on Friday from the Hyperion Records website. (Mounting excitement...)

Now spinning: given his recent passing, I've been playing Norrington's groundbreaking Beethoven symphony set. I still remember the first time I heard this as a student. Very exciting stuff, and yet another example of historically-informed performance practice shedding a whole new, informative light.

All our recordings (even the deleted ones) are available from our website, and by buying from us you'll be directly helping to support the group and the work that we do.

And here's the 3rd single from our Morales Requiem disc, the gentle and mournful Kyrie. The full album will be available from Friday 29th. And if you buy it from Hyperion, Amazon, or Presto you'll help our position in the Specialist Classical Chart! hyperion.lnk.to/CDA68467_ig3

Toby Wheatley first sang alto with DP in 2019 and has been delighted to have sung with us regularly since. He works as an aerospace engineer and music is his biggest outside interest. He works as a solo singer, is a keen amateur choral director and organist, and sings tenor with a local G&S society

Otd 1526 a young Morales was appointed maestro at Ávila cathedral. No-one knows for certain what music he wrote there but the three Lessons for Matins for the Dead are very likely candidates. They feature in our Requiem recording coming out Fri 29th August.

In the Christian calendar, today is the Feast of the Transfiguration, the feast for which Vivanco wrote his motet and mass 'Assumpsit Jesus'. This music featured in our second album (released 2018). Here's a link to the motet. hyperion.lnk.to/cda68257_07

Here's the 2nd single from our upcoming Morales Requiem album. It's the motet 'Ave verum corpus' by Francisco de Peñalosa who was possibly Morales's teacher. We use it as the Elevation motet, & are happy to give a nod to the most eminent Spanish composer before Morales.

A month from now our next Morales album is released! It'll be available from the Hyperion website, and if you get it from them then the sale will feed directly into our position in the UK Specialist Classical Chart. www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_...

It feels ages away, but this is just a quick heads-up that booking for our gig on 27th Sept is now open. We're putting on a programme of Christmas music from the Low Countries conducted by Stephen Rice, conductor of the fabulous Brabant Ensemble. And now, on with the summer! bit.ly/DPBelgianXmas

It's the weekend!

Our recording of Vivanco's motet 'O sacrum convivum' caused BBC R3's reviewer to say that it reminded him of the warnings that we get on tv sometimes that 'there will be scenes of sex and violence from the very beginning'. Hold onto your seats! Cor! Phew, what a scorcher!

Here's the 1st single from our Morales Requiem album (coming out on Fri 29th August). It's 'Circumdederunt me', the beautiful funeral motet that opens the disc. (hyperion.lnk.to/CDA68467_ig1) Enjoy! And if you'll want the whole album you'll get it here: www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_...

The Countdown Begins...! Tomorrow afternoon we'll post a link to the opening track from our new album, Morales Requiem a5, which is coming out on Hyperion at the end of August. Woo-hoo, as they say!

De profundis - 'Out of the depths'. An appropriate motet for a sinner? open.spotify.com/track/1wJEBa...

Toby Ward sings tenor with us, is an alum of King's College Choir, and is the founder/director of Ensemble Pro Victoria. He is Praefectus Cantorum of the Grand Priory of England, Order of Malta, (ie he sings lots of chant!), performs with the Italian group Vox Medicea & is a popular Bach Evangelist.

Now spinning: the gorgeous (Gramophpone Award-winning) album of music by Cardoso from Portuguese group Cupertinos. The sops and altos have a bright sound and I wonder how much that's to do with the Portuguese accent. Cupertinos have done top work bringing Portuguese polyphony to a wider audience.

Volume 2 of our Morales series comes out at the end of August. Between now and then we'll be able to release a couple of preview singles to whet the appetite. First (in 2 weeks' time) will be the beautiful motet Circumdederunt me. I'll be posting it here - watch out for it!

The Morales Project. The danger is we focus too much on the Masses & forget there are moments of deep loveliness in the Mags. Here's a recording sesh clip of Et misericordia ('And his mercy is from generation to generation') in the Magnificat tertii toni <swoon>.

"De Profundis is one of the leading lights in the constellation." - Michael Noone, Gramophone Award-winning founder of Ensemble Plus Ultra.

Last month we performed Morales's Missa Ave Maria in Cambridge before setting off to record it in London. The Mass will be part of Volume 4 of our Morales series. Here's the opening Kyrie - gorgeous stuff. It's nice to give the countertenors some time off!

Otd in 1559, Bernardino de Ribera was appointed maestro at Avila Cathedral. He was an unlucky composer: the volume that contains most of his surviving music was later vandalised, so many pieces need reconstruction. We recorded almost all of them in 2013. www.hyperion-streaming.co.uk/release/cda6...

Now spinning: the Cardinall's Musick disc of the Missa Cantantibus organis: a 3-choir mass from 16th cent Rome with 7 composers, each setting individual parts - a real group effort. We sang it with Andrew Parrott in 2015 having been inspired by this CD!

David Whitworth (alto) is a Lay Clerk at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and has sung with De Profundis many times since 2016. Outside of singing, David works as a geoscientist in London, is completing a part-time PhD, and Chairs the Cathedral Music Trust's Future Leaders Committee.

Saturday was the Feast of the Visitation which commemorates when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth (who was pregnant with John the Baptist) and spontaneously came up with the Magnificat. So the choice of track to accompany this post wasn't hard.

David Skinner first directed us in 2013, and conducted our first CD (Music by Bernardino de Ribera) the following year. He works as a scholar and conductor, directing the award-winning ensemble Alamire as well as being Director of Music at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. What a guy.

Some pics from our recent Morales sessions: Eamonn Dougan conducting Missa Ave Maria and (pictured) Missa Si bona suscepimus. Looking forward to hearing the first edit in a little while!

Dan Gethin has sung alto with us since 2018 after 3 years with St John’s College Choir as a student. He also sings with The Sixteen, The Cardinall's Musick, & the Chorus of The English Concert. He conducts at Holy Redeemer Clerkenwell & directs the Sine Nomine Singers Bickley and Kent Chamber Choir.

Today's listening is Mateo Flecha sung by the young Spanish vocal group Cantoría. Flecha wrote ensaladas - fun pieces that mix languages, dialects, a bit of nonsense, and that make use of popular tunes. Morales used one (La Caça) as basis for a mass and we'll record that in a few years' time. Whoop!

The long-awaited volume 2 of our Morales series will be released on Friday 29th August. There'll be details later about where/how you can pre-order, but in the meantime here's a preview of the cover. Exciting times!

‘Tenors emoting’ - part of an occasional photographic series.