The glory of early polyphony performed by one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles Pro Cantione Antiqua sings the greatest sacred choral masterpieces of Palestrina — together on a single, value-priced CD. Palestrina composed the Missa Papae Marcelli in honor of Pope Marcellus II. While Marcellus II reigned only for a few weeks, this piece has been used in many papal coronations over the centuries and is Palestrina’s most famous and most-performed mass. The Stabat Mater is a hymn which tells of the sorrows of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, meditating on her sufferings and those of her Son; of all settings of this poem-hymn, Palestrina’s is the highest-regarded. The Pro Cantione Antiqua (under the direction of Bruno Turner and Mark Brown) are sublime masters of Renaissance polyphony and this recording has been hailed by critics.