Founded in 1984, Schola Antiqua is dedicated “to the study, research, and performance of early music and, in particular, Gregorian chant.” This selection is taken from their recording Oficio De La Toma De Granada – which is a service written by Hernando de Talavera, the first Catholic Archbishop of Granada. This service was celebrated for many years to commemorate the surrender of the last Moorish King of Granada.
de Talavera himself was a popular figure among Grenada’s Muslims and did not allow the Inquisition to operate there. His own scholarly efforts were directed towards mutual understanding. From Wikipedia:
In newly conquered Granada, the population was Muslim; their right to practice their religion was guaranteed by the conditions of Granada’s surrender. Hernando’s goal was to convert these Muslims to Christianity (Catholicism) peacefully, by explaining to them, in their own language as few knew Castilian, the nature of the Christian religion and its superiority over Islam. To facilitate this he promoted the study of Arabic, a language he learned himself. To him we owe the first grammar of Arabic in Spanish and the first bilingual Spanish-Arabic-Spanish dictionary, the first printed books in which Arabic letters were used; these were authored by Hernando’s own confessor, Pedro de Alcalá. He did not allow the Inquisition to operate in Granada. He was very popular among the Granadine Muslims, but conversions to Christianity were few.
Séamus Sweeney 