Oh Flanders Free: Music of the Flemish Renaissance

Josquin, Brumel and Lassus were truly European composers, leaving their origins to work in the top establishments of Aix-en-Provence, Ferrara, Rome and Munich. Their music has a unique sonority which will astound you all - from the depth of expression and fascinating texts of Josquin (prepare yourselves for the surreal nature of Praeter rerum seriem) to the overtly decorative mass movements of Brumel’s Missa Et ecce terraemotus where the 12 parts interweave in extensive imitation and thrilling tracery, culminating in the extraordinary harmonic stillness of Lassus’s Timor et tremor and his gorgeously evocative 10-part setting of Aurora lucis rutilat.

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This is a repertoire that's been surprisingly well represented on disc, benefiting from the glasnost/perestroika-inspired revival of liturgical music in Russia in the early 1980s and the coincidental CD-fueled resurgence of the classical recording industry. One of the beauties of the unique, harmonized chant forms that characterize Russian church music is the attention this music received from some of the country's finest composers, some of them well known--Grechaninov, Bortnyansky, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov--and others more obscure but nevertheless highly skilled. Most of the composers represented here are among the latter category, but the music is first rate and the choir, from Moscow's historic Novospassky Monastery, is equal to the best on disc. It's also a plus that most of the selections, by Lvov, Arkhangelsky, Smolensky, Kastalsky, and others, aren't duplicated elsewhere. The program follows a service of the Divine Liturgy, which includes hymns, antiphons, the Great Litany, the Trisagion, Nicene Creed, a psalm, and the Doxology. I was pleasantly surprised by the exceptional quality of the singing, set in shimmering, vibrant sound made in a Moscow studio but with the kind of (artificial?) resonance that could just as well have come from the wood and stone environs of an ancient church. There are many excellent choices for recordings of Russian religious music, but if you want to hear what the real thing sounds like, you won't go wrong with this--and its budget price makes it especially attractive. --David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

This selection is a Hybrid Super Audio CD. The Stereo Hybrid SACD program can be played on any standard compact disc player. The DSD Surround and Stereo programs require an SACD player for playback.


Thomas Tallis' 40-voice motet Spem in alium (scored for eight five-part choirs) was composed some 400 years before the modern age of recordings, and perhaps it's a work that's best left for the experience of live performance. Granted, capturing this grand Renaissance experiment in sound and performance logistics (said to have been composed in response to a ducal challenge) is an irresistible temptation for choirs and record companies, most of whose attempts have resulted in something less than the imagined "wall of sound" effect promised by its sumptuous rich-textured, full-bodied scoring. But if you're going to record it, you might as well use whatever technical means are at your disposal to reproduce the wide vocal range, sonic depth, and pure physical sensation engendered by this huge concentration of vocal forces, which in the tutti passages is sort of like the choral equivalent of an all-stops-out cathedral organ.

Until now, the best version on disc was by The Tallis Scholars. Recorded nearly 20(!) years ago, it remains a top choice, absolutely stunning in coherence and cohesiveness, to say nothing of its firm balances and amazing sonic power. (Interestingly, but not surprisingly, many of the singers on that earlier disc appear here as well.) However, this new release from Coro goes even further in bringing us closer to the live experience and manages (remarkably) to capture even more interior detail of the massed vocal forces. Since this is not a work that delivers sound from a relatively focused source--it literally comes from all directions--a surround-sound SACD recording makes a lot of sense, and even though this review is based on listening to this "hybrid" on a standard CD player (the SACD-system review will follow), there's no question that the engineering and mastering techniques used were expertly done to maximize the music's strengths--and delivering it with more clarity and wide-ranging dynamic impact than ever before.

And that's only part of an extraordinary program that goes on to feature several more gems drawn from "a century of British history", including a convincing reconstruction of a Tomkins masterpiece (until recently unattributed) that's never before been recorded. The disc's subtitle, "Music for Monarchs and Magnates", sets the rationale for selections that highlight mostly larger-scale motets and anthems (and a sublime Te Deum by Tallis) composed for special, royal occasions, sometimes containing a not-too-subtle political commentary in their carefully-chosen Biblical texts. Byrd's rarely-heard Latin motet Deus venerunt is a 13-plus-minute disconcerted response to the execution of Jesuit priests, expressed in the words of a Psalm and in music that's deliberately refined and solemn--and gorgeous. Some of the works are accompanied by instruments--cornetts, sackbutts, viols--and the effect is always to the benefit of the music, surrounding and enhancing the voices with colors both bright and rich. Orlando Gibbons' Great King of Gods is a highlight among these latter pieces.

The disc closes with yet another performance of Spem in alium, this time in its English-text setting, "Sing and glorify". And who would complain about hearing this magnificent work again? As you might expect, the singing throughout is absolutely first-class--and with many of Britain's top performers on hand, combined with such exalted repertoire, we're treated to one of the choral events of the year, one that will remain a standard for more than its spectacular sound. (My only complaint: Coro continues its user-unfriendly practice of providing a straight track listing only on the outside of the CD box.

The disc closes with yet another performance of Spem in alium, this time in its English-text setting, "Sing and glorify". And who would complain about hearing this magnificent work again? As you might expect, the singing throughout is absolutely first-class--and with many of Britain's top performers on hand, combined with such exalted repertoire, we're treated to one of the choral events of the year, one that will remain a standard for more than its spectacular sound. (My only complaint: Coro continues its user-unfriendly practice of providing a straight track listing only on the outside of the CD box.)
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

LAWES/PURCELL/EXQUISITE CONSOR

Christoph Graupner: The Seven Words Of Christ On The Cross

Includes work(s) by various composers.

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BALSAMINO: Novellette a 6 voci / MONTEVERDI: Combattimento d

Includes work(s) by various composers. Ensemble: Gloriae Dei cantores.

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This is an interesting adventure for early music fans--70 minutes devoted to one of the most influential and respected English composers ever, but one who is rarely heard today except as an occasional contributor to early music compilations. (Another excellent all-Dunstable disc, from 1995 by the Orlando Consort on Metronome is still available.) This disc's title, Sweet Harmony, comes from the uniquely sonorous feature of Dunstable's music that inspired imitation by composers throughout Europe--the manner in which he used and combined thirds, whether in blocks or as coincidental occurrences among polyphonic parts. The result produces pleasingly vibrant sequences of harmonic consonance, often interrupted with surprising cross-relations or redirected with unusual "backward" harmonic shifts--and there are many times where the boldness of the harmony and complexity of the rhythm can only leave you with renewed respect for this 15th-century music's sophistication and inherent expressive qualities.


The eight voices of Tonus Peregrinus--two sopranos, alto, countertenor, three tenors, and bass--make the most of those expressive qualities, in clear, vibrato-colored timbre, captured in the ideally resonant acoustic of Chancelade Abbey in Dordogne, France. The program, which primarily consists of a group of Mass movements framed by two of Dunstable's better-known motets, concludes with a remarkable, recently-discovered Gloria in canon, reconstructed by Margaret Bent and first recorded on the abovementioned Orlando Consort disc in five parts--the original probably had six or seven (the full manuscript is not intact). Here, the singers fill out the existing reconstruction with their own realization, adding an accompanying two-part canon to more closely approximate the style and presumed structure of the original. However authentic or inauthentic, it's a marvelous piece and a sublime rendition that, along with the rest of these works, fully justifies the words of Dunstable's famous epitaph, which honors one "who had secret knowledge of the stars" and "scattered the sweet arts of music throughout the world." Outstanding! [12/7/2006]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Solesmes' He Was Placed in the Tomb contains the Gregorian Office for Holy (or "Great") Saturday, the evening service that observes the time Christ spent in the bonds of death; it is signified by the lighting of the candle of Paschali... This performance of the Office is by the Monastic Choir of St. Peter's Abbey in Solesmes, presumably from their own edition, which has been the Vatican standard since 1903... This one of the very last recordings of the Solesmes choir as led by it's longtime director, the late Dom Jean Claire, who retired shortly thereafter. The choir is in excellent voice; the pacing of the chant is as it should be and the acoustic in the Abbey Church at Solesmes is warm and bathes the voices in a benevolent ambience. This office consists of four Nocturnes, Lauds, and Vespers, with the pieces toward the ends of the Nocturnes being the most captivating within the office, particularly the Mode 4 and 5 Responsory at the end of the first Nocturne and the breathtakingly beautiful Responsories in Modes 8 and 4 that conclude the Second Nocturne. "As a representation of the Holy Saturday service in Gregorian terms, this is about as liturgically accurate, and as well performed, as it gets. Outside of it's purely religious context, Solesmes' He Was Placed In The Tomb would be an excellent album to accompany late-night reading or other nocturnal, quiet activities. " (AllMusic. Com)

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Cappella Romana, a vocal chamber ensemble renowned for its ''robust and intriguing music'' (Washington Post), releases its latest recording ''Live in Greece.'' Its previous release ''Music of Byzantium'' sold over 14,000 copies. A 1000-year journey from Constantinople to California, ancient Byzantine chants are followed by musical encounters with Crusaders and Venetians, including Greek and Latin polyphony from Renaissance Crete. East meets West again at St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles, where Frank Desby founded a tradition, continued by his Californian peers of Greek-American choral music.

A rich experience of the church's liturgical year through Gregorian chant. This release delivers a stirring collection of Gregorian chants, celebrating "Ordinary Time" - the season of the liturgical year between the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and Lent, and from Pentecost Sunday until the beginning of the Advent season. Ordinary Time is the thread of the liturgical year, commemorating each Sunday with the Resurrection and the Paschal mystery. Expertly sung by the world-renowned monastic choir of Solesmes, France, this Gregorian chant recording enables listeners to participate in a rich experience of the church's liturgical year. "This recording has remained a touchstone of chant singing... It's elegance, it's utter rightness once more becoming evident." (Fanfare)

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This brand new recording by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen is dedicated to the works of Spanish Renaissance composer Francisco Guerrero and includes his exquisite Missa de la Batalla Escoutez. The Mass is a parody on Janeuqin's famous chanson 'La Guerre' which also features on this disc. Janequin's La Guerre, was so popular in the 16th century that it led to numerous composers, including Janequin himself, writing parody mass settings on it. Missa de la Batalla Escoutez is one of the finest of those settings. Guerrero is a quite astounding and varied composer with a wide expressive range. Heralded in the Renaissance as 'the most extraordinary of his time in the art of music', he was more famous than Victoria and Morales. Despite being a master of expression and sublime melodic invention - skills exemplified by his Missa de la Batalla Escoutez and the other fine works on this disc - Guerrero's work has often been overlooked in favour of that of his contemporaries. With this brand new recording The Sixteen aims to redress the balance.

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