Donal McCrisken conducts Cappella Caeciliana in this celebration of the music of Renaissance Italy. The soloist on 'Magnificat' is Fr Eugene O'Hagan of 'The Priests' fame. The CD was recorded in the Chapel of St MacNissi's College, situated in the beautiful Glens of Antrim overlooking the Irish Sea. Cappella Caeciliana was formed in Belfast in 1996 under the direction of the late Bob Leonard. They quickly established themselves as leading interpreters of the great liturgical repertoire and are much in demand for masses and liturgies throughout the Down and Connor diocese. They also perform regular concerts and have appeared with the Ulster Orchestra, Belfast Baroque Consort and the Orchestra of St Cecilia in Dublin. Their repertoire is broad and varied, taking in plainchant, Renaissance polyphony, large scale works by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart and Faure and contemporary composers such as MacMillan, Tavener and Elaine Agnew. Cappella has also broadcast many times on radio and television, often to lead BBC Radio 4 and Radio Ulster’s religious services. They have also appeared on BBC Radio 3, BBC Television, Ulster Television and Lyric FM Radio. Cappella Caeciliana has made three highly successful foreign trips. In 2001 they gave concerts and masses in Munich, Waging-am-See and Salzburg. In 2003 they were placed 5th in the prestigious Montreux International Choral Festival in Switzerland. At Easter 2008 they travelled to Rome where they sang at a Papal Audience as well as singing masses and concerts in two other churches. The present CD is the third which the choir has recorded under Donal McCrisken’s direction. Cappella continues to expand its repertoire and to respond to the challenge of a variety of musical styles. Through all of this they seek to remain true to the original remit of the choir – to enhance the timeless liturgies of the church with music of the highest order. All the music on this disc was written by composers who were either Italian born or who had gravitated towards Italy as the leading country in the production of choral music of the Renaissance. For all of them, with the exception of Monteverdi and Gabrieli, Rome became the centre of their creative world, enriched as it was with the influx of marvellous musicians from all over Europe. While St Peter’s Basilica and the other great churches of Rome were the inspiration for much of the present music it was another exceptional Italian cathedral, St Mark’s in Venice, which employed Monteverdi and Gabrieli for significant periods of their creative lives.