Rating: 5/5
Review:
Stunning
Even by The Tallis Scholars' stellar standards, this is
quite outstanding. It is a disc of extraordinarily
beautiful and powerful music, sung to perfection, I think.
Taverner here epitomises the music of the early 16th
Century in England,
with the two distinctive elements of fabulous sonorities and soaring treble
lines, and he does it with immense skill.
The result is music of exceptional spiritual depth and often simply
spine-tingling loveliness. It is varied
in mood from the piercingly joyful to the quietly contemplative, and all of it
is just wonderful.
I have loved this mass for over 20 years in a performance by
The Sixteen, but I have to say that this is even better. The Tallis Scholars are a magnificent
ensemble of virtuoso singers with impeccable technique and a wonderful sense of
engagement with the text. There is a
lovely balance of voices and a superb fluency and distinctness of line while
preserving a beautiful blend and wholeness of sound. The Tallis Scholars always sing at quite a
high pitch which here makes the already difficult treble lines extremely
demanding, but the sopranos (the excellent Janet Coxwell and Amy Haworth) make
it all seem completely natural and unforced.
The effect is stunning in places with an aetherial, heavenly sound which
moves me every time. This, combined with
the beautiful, sonorous lower parts makes for something really special.
The recorded sound is, as always with Gimmell, superb, Peter
Phillips's notes are full and interesting and the presentation is very
attractive. This is without question one
of my Discs Of 2015 and I cannot recommend it too highly.
No comments:
Post a Comment