On MISSION ROAD, the GRAMMY award-winning male vocal group Chanticleer - renowned worldwide as “an orchestra of voices” - performs a selection of authentic, rich vocal repertory from the Mexican Baroque canon and other musical treasures of New Spain. The music explores what native Californians would have heard 200 years ago, both inside and outside the mission walls, and is from a series of acclaimed concerts celebrating Chanticleer's 30th anniversary that were performed at nine historic California missions in 2008. The final concert took place at San Francisco's Mission Dolores, where Chanticleer staged their very first concert in 1978.

A fascinating contemporary realization of early music from “El Camino Real,” the audio CD's highlights include: Friar Juan Bautista Sancho's Misa en sol (Mass in G); premieres of selected works by Mexican Baroque master Manuel de Sumaya - “America's Handel” - only recently discovered in the archives of the Mexico City Cathedral; and various vocal compositions (introit, processional, alleluia, and recessional) by anonymous Spanish/Mexican composers of the late 18th century, including pieces that were originally part of the pageantry for feast days. On a number of selections, Chanticleer is accompanied by instrumentalists, blending folk and traditional idioms.