Communion music
This Sunday, we shall be listening to “Regina Cæli a 5” by Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500–1553), performed by Westminster Cathedral Choir.
For this first Sunday in “Mary’s month” of May, we hear the Marian antiphon traditionally used in place of the Angelus throughout Eastertide, exhorting the Blessed Virgin to rejoice in the resurrection of her Son. This setting for five voices is by Morales, a native of Seville who occupied prominent positions in cathedrals at Ávila, Plasencia and elsewhere. He is generally considered to be the most influential Spanish composer before Tomás de Victoria.