Rating: 3/5
Review:
Disappointing
I was looking forward to hearing Quartom who are a new ensemble to
me. They make a very lovely sound, but overall I was rather
disappointed in this disc.
The programme is of
motets and antiphons by Palestrina, interspersed with plainchant. It
is very beautiful music, which Quartom sing with skill and impeccable
intonation. However, there is very little engagement with the texts
(it may be significant that no texts are provided in the booklet) and
there is a sameness of tone and sound which becomes rather cloying.
Sometimes it is simply inappropriate – the celebratory words Hodie
Christus natus est have rather a lugubrious air, for example – but
often it’s just a bit bland. The same can be said of the
plainchant, which to me needed a good deal more muscularity at times.
For me this is a bit
of a waste of what is plainly a talented quartet of singers, sounding
more as though it is aimed at a commercial chill-out market rather
than a real attempt to bring the music to life. I’m sorry to be
critical, but in the end I found much of Renaissance rather bland and
dull, for all it’s beauty of sound, and I can only give it a very
qualified recommendation.
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