motet notes - Guerrero

Spanish Renaissance composer and author Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) was largely self-taught. His output of sacred and secular choral works exceeds that of Victoria.  It was essentially the music of Guerrero that became the Baroque music of the New World. The functional harmonies and singing lines made his music compatible with 17th century tastes, especially in the colonies. Our motet "Rorate coeli" sets long melodic lines to polyphony, depicting the dropping dew and clouds raining down justice, combined with homophonic pleas for a Savior and salvation.

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