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Fanfare Magazine  33:6 (07-08/2008)
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Alia Vox
AVSA 9856

Reviewer: J.F. Weber

Abridged version:

Francis “ Xavier was the Jesuit priest who preached the gospel in India and Japan and died on the way to China in December 1552. The musical program illustrates the events of church and state that occurred during his 46 years.”

”Xavier launched the order’s missionary activity by traveling along the Portuguese colonies on the African coast to Goa in India, which became his headquarters. From there he went to Malaya and the Indies, then Japan. After returning to Goa, he set out for China but died of a fever on the way.”

“The music chosen to illustrate each step of the way is varied and appropriate. The birth of St. Francis is marked by a vilancico of Pedro de Escobar, the death of King Ferdinand by an anonymous vilancico, and Luther’s 95 theses by an Isaac song. Beginning with Xavier’s departure for Africa and the Far East, invited guests join the ensemble with music of local origin. The second disc begins with Xavier’s arrival in Japan, signaled by Japanese musicians who first performed with Savall in 1996 in Spain and Japan to commemorate that cultural encounter. Both Eastern and Western music is heard in the rest of the program. The death of Pope Paul III, who had approved the Society of Jesus, is marked by music from the Office of the Dead by Morales, the longest selection of all. The hymn O gloriosa Domina runs through most of the program like a refrain, significant because it was in the first Catholic hymnal printed in Japan in 1605. Xavier’s death is marked by another excerpt from the Morales Office. The program concludes with a pentatonic Chinese setting of Ave Maria.”

”These discs are not for casual listening. The vast difference in musical forms and styles, even from one track to the next, demands that some attention be paid to the book. Filled with color pages devoted to the art of the period as well as photographs of the artists, it is a delight to read. The contents are listed in detail. They serve to illustrate Xavier’s openness to Oriental cultures and non-Christian religions, as described in detail in the lengthy essay. The occasion for this elaborate issue, of course, is the quincentenary of Xavier’s birth. It is magnificent, enhanced greatly by the Super Audio surround sound.”

”This is a recording to treasure.”

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