Rating: 5/5
Review:
Simply superb
This is quite brilliant.
Magnificat are one of the finest ensembles performing Renaissance music
today, and this is a recording to stand with their very best, I think.
This is a collection of works based around the last
meditations of Savonorola, who was put to death in 1498 for heresy and from
whose fate the title of this set is taken.
They are therefore somewhat solemn and sombre works, but they also often
have a deep, meditative beauty about them.
The collection begins and ends with two of the very greatest works of
the 16th Century: Josquin's setting of Miserere mei, Deus from the
very beginning of the century, and Byrd's Infelix ego from its very end. In between there is a collection of far less
well-known settings, all of which are very fine; it's an excellent, well
thought-out programme.
Magnificat sing it superbly.
Philip Cave
has gathered a choir of truly excellent singers (you only have to see names
like Sally Dunkley, Caroline Trevor, Stephen Harrold and others to know you're
in the best possible hands) and with them has crafted performances of
exceptional depth and beauty.
Technically they are impeccable, of course, and they bring both clarity
and emotional engagement to every phrase.
There is excellent balance and blend, a lovely fluency of line and a
real sense of engagement with what they are singing. I have several dearly loved recordings of
Josquin's Miserere mei, Deus by great ensembles including The Hilliard Ensemble
and Cinquecento, and this stands with the best of them. Magnificat judge it perfectly so that it
flows beautifully and has immense emotional intensity without ever getting
bogged down, and the same can be said of every piece on these discs. It's a wonderful recording.
Linn's recorded sound is, of course, superb. The notes are very full and extremely
interesting and the presentation is very attractive. This is, in short, a great set all round and
very warmly recommended indeed.
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