Sacred Songs of the Renaissance combines the virtuosity of one of the top choirs in the world with the musical sensibilities of producer Ellen Holmes. All of the pieces are Renaissance settings of religious texts recorded by the Huelgas Ensemble. From their catalogue, Ellen selected and sequenced these pieces to draw the listener ever more deeply into a contemplative religious experience. This CD focuses on Renaissance polyphonic music being multiple simultaneous harmonies as distinct from Medieval monophonic 'Gregorian' chant. The album features the only recording of 'Gaude Virgo Mater Christi à 6', an English sacred piece from the Eton Choirbook a collection of some of the earliest polyphonic music, as well as 'Spem in alium' and 'Ecce beatam lucem', two of the most complex polyphonic works in the Western repertoire. Ellen Holmes, also a producer of sacred music programs for NPR, has created numerous compilations of sacred music, notably the bestselling 'Sacred Treasures' series of Russian Orthodox music, and the 'Sacred Songs of ....' series, that includes CDs devoted to Mary, Angels and Hope. Each CD is a carefully sequenced collection of the best contemplative sacred choral music sung by the finest artists from around the globe.