Thursday, 14 March 2019

Josquin - Missa Gaudeamus, Missa l'ami Baudichon - Tallis Scholars/Phillips


Rating: 5/5

Review:
Another gem from The Tallis Scholars

You really can’t go wrong with the Tallis Scholars, especially when they sing Josquin. This, the seventh in their projected series of all Josquin’s mass settings, is well up to the stellar standard of its predecessors.

These are two very different settings; Missa L’ami Baudichon is possibly Josquin’s earlies setting, based on an extremely vulgar popular song and Missa Gaudeamus is from the mid-point of his 40-year composing career and is much more intense and architecturally complex. Both are extremely satisfying in their different ways and, of course, both are extremely lovely.

The performances are, as you would expect, technically impeccable and luminously beautiful. Peter Phillips and his ensemble have a deep understanding of Josquin and they do his genius full justice here. The sound recording is excellent and Phillips’s notes are fascinating and readable. In short, this is another outstanding disc from the Tallis Scholars and very warmly recommended.

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