Rating: 5/5
Review:
Fabulous
This is another wonderful entry in The Tallis Scholars’ cycle of
Josquin’s masses, now nearing completion. The two masses here have
had a chequered history of attribution; currently the Missa Mater
patris is thought to be by Josquin and the Missa Da pacem by
Bauldeweyn. Peter Phillips, in his typically scholarly and readable
notes, makes a good case for at least some of Missa Da pacem to be by
Josquin and includes it in this cycle on that basis. Whoever wrote
it, it forms part of a lovely and very rewarding disc.
I ran out of
superlatives for The Tallis Scholars many years ago, but they are all
deserved here. Their trademark purity of sound, blend, fluency of
line and engagement with the text are all fully in evidence and the
effect is, as so often, fabulous. The overall sound is beautiful and
the depth and spirituality of the music comes through so that the
whole disc is a monumental pleasure. Phillips’s notes give some
fascinating technical detail about the music’s structure, too,
which in itself is very rewarding.
It is probably
enough to say that this is well up to the stellar standard of The
Tallis Scholars’ best recordings. Very warmly recommended.
