The archives of Mdina Cathedral in Malta house a number of 12th- and 13th-century antiphonaries, a collection of over 150 printed works (many unique) by later French and Italian composers, and a large number of manuscripts by 17th-century Italian composers. Such musical wealth indicates the importance of liturgical music in the cathedrals of Mdina and Valetta, especially in the 17th century when large numbers of composers, singers and instrumentalists came to Malta from Rome, Venice and elsewhere. Many of the manuscripts in the archive, works written expressly for Maltese performances, are the only extant copies.

This recording reveals some of these neglected treasures to a wider audience for the first time.

Domenico Balsano
1     Venite omnes

Giacomo Carissimi
2     Salve Regina

Claudio Monteverdi
3     Ecce panis

Vincenzo Amato
4     Letania

Andrea Rinaldi
5     Gaudeamus

Aloysio Mataron
6     Dulcis amor

Antonio Campochiaro
7     Omnis pulchritudo

Giacomo Carissimi
8     Emendemus

Antonio La Greca
9     O admirabile sacramentum

Anonymous
10    Salve Regina

Rubino Bonaventura
11    Surgamus omnes

Total Playing time: 55'10"  DDD
Recorded in the Chapel of New College Oxford, 4 - 6 July 1995
Released 1995
Studio SM, Paris D2473