The choir El León de Oro took part in the fourth edition of the Atrium Musicae Festival in Cáceres with two performances of outstanding artistic and spiritual depth, leaving a lasting impression on the event. Held between January 28 and February 2 in various heritage venues across the city, the festival once again demonstrated its commitment to bringing musical excellence into dialogue with historic spaces, even in the face of challenging weather conditions.
One of the most intense moments of the festival took place on Saturday, January 31, at the Co-Cathedral of Santa María, where the LDO Choir, conducted by Marco Antonio García de Paz, delivered a deeply moving interpretation of Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Officium Defunctorum. Conceived as a Requiem Mass in memory of Empress Maria of Austria, the work was presented as a complete liturgical ceremony in collaboration with Schola Antiqua and its director Juan Carlos Asensio, combining Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony with austere expressiveness and profound spiritual force.
The choir’s technical rigor, precise intonation, and vocal blend resulted in a performance of remarkable depth, highlighting the restrained intensity of Victoria’s music without resorting to theatrical effect. The alternation between polyphonic sections and passages of plainchant reinforced the ritual character of the program and transformed the concert into an almost immersive experience, widely recognized by critics as one of the highlights of the festival.
The following day, Sunday, February 1, the LDO Choir returned to meet audiences in Cáceres at the Church of Santiago with the program entitled Contrafacta Dorada. In this concert, the ensemble offered a musical journey centered on the concept of the contrafactum, exploring the reuse of pre-existing music with new texts throughout history. The program established a dialogue between Renaissance works and contemporary compositions, tracing a broad historical arc that underscored the continuity and enduring relevance of the choral tradition.
The carefully structured repertoire showcased the choir’s versatility and its ability to move seamlessly between very different styles while maintaining expressive coherence and sonic clarity. Particular emphasis was placed on vocal color, textual articulation, and balance among the different voice sections, all of which were especially praised in a performance that combined historical reflection with modern sensibility.
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