Rating: 4/5
Review:
Very good but slightly dry
This is another good recording from Beauty Farm, although I’m not
quite so keen on it as on some of their others.
This is a double CD
of two major mass settings by Obrecht, Missa Fortuna desperata and
Missa Maria Zart. They are both fine works which Beauty Farm sing
with just four voices: countertenor, two tenors and bass. This
emphasises the spare beauty of Obrecht’s music, which for me could
do with just a little more richness of tone occasionally. This could
just be because I have loved The Tallis Scholars’ disc of Missa
Maria Zart and The Clerk’s Group’s excellent Obrecht recordings
for many years so Beauty Farm’s rather bleaker sound here is quite
a contrast, but I do find both masses a little bit dry.
That said, this is
fine music which is very well sung and recorded. Beauty Farm (in
spite of their silly name and dreadful covers) are an excellent
ensemble and this is a good addition to their body of work. For me,
it’s not quite as enjoyable as their excellent de la Rue release,
for example, but it’s still very recommendable.
No comments:
Post a Comment