RECORDING OF THE MONTH
A Musical Journey into the English
Renaissance
Stile Antico
rec. 2007-12
HARMONIA MUNDI HMX2908727.29 [3 CDs: 78:09 + 78:51 + 74:34]
Gaudete! Stile Antico have reissued a trio of their discs at a
bargain price, and just in time for Christmas. We've reviewed all three of
the featured discs elsewhere on MusicWeb International (and made each of
them a Recording of the Month), so my main job is merely to
reinforce how good they are, and to urge you to pick them up at this price
while you still can.
One of the featured discs is, in fact, their first Christmas disc,
Puer natus est. It is structured using a favourite Stile Antico
device: a multi-movement work with other pieces interspersed between its
movements. In this case, it's Tallis' Missa puer natus est, which
is extraordinarily complex, of great scale and very beautifully sung. The
Gloria is radiant; the Agnus Dei even more so, with a
spellbinding Dona nobis pacem. Four of Byrd's Propers form the
disc's other unifying feature. His Rorate coeli is both reflective
and mysterious and his Ave Maria has prayerful simplicity to it.
Meanwhile, the harmonic shifts of Ecce Virgo create a sense of awe
and anticipation. Elsewhere on the disc, there is a beautiful sense of
mystery to Videte miraculum; deeply reflective and profoundly
meditative. When you compare the slightly business-like way the Taverner
Consort sing the same number, it helps you to realise just how much Stile
Antico are a cut above. Taverner's Audivi voce, the earliest piece
on disc, is strikingly austere in places, while Robert White's soaring
six-part Magnificat and Sheppard's equally ambitious Verbum
caro form a dazzling pair to conclude the disc.
Heavenly Harmonies had critics reaching for superlatives when it
was released in 2008, and it has lost none of its power to dazzle in the
interim. Interspersing Byrd's Latin Catholic texts with Tallis' Protestant
English Psalm setting was a masterstroke of inspiration, serving to
highlight links between them as well as differences. The Tallis psalms are
all sung with directness and clarity, while the Byrd motets soar with
ethereal beauty. There may be a directly communicative style to his
Vigilate, which even seems to laugh at one stage, but the highlight
is the magnificent Infelix Ego, a piece of almost erotic spiritual
beauty which grows in power as it develops. The major key sonority of motets
like Ne irascaris make then deeply expressive and immediately
communicative to their audiences, and the choir's homogeneity of sound
coupled with the resonant acoustic make this every bit as much of a hit as
it was on release.
The Phoenix Rising is a more niche release, but it points up the
choir's penchant for intelligent programming, celebrating the centenary of
the UK trust that first published the collection of Tudor church music that
was to have such a major impact on British musical life. There is beauty in
the Byrd, joy in the Gibbons, and appealing warmth in the White, as well as
much else besides. The acoustic of St Jude's Church helps the choral sound
to glow quietly, generating spine-tingling effect after spine-tingling
effect.
The only major downside of this set is that you don't get the text and
translations that were provided with the originals, but a rudimentary
internet search will furnish you with most if not all of them. Furthermore,
these discs are in stereo only: there is no surround option which there was
in the originals. However, that won't bother everyone, and most will agree
that the bargain price more than makes up for it. I can't imagine a
music-lover who wouldn't be delighted with this set, at Christmas or any
other time of the year.
Simon Thompson
Previous reviews (original releases):
Puer natus est ~~
Heavenly Harmonies ~~
The Phoenix Rising
Puer natus est - Tudor Music for Advent
and Christmas
Thomas TALLIS (c.1505-1585) Videte miraculum [11:39]
John TAVERNER (c.1490-1545) Audivi vocem de caelo
[4:09]
William BYRD (c.1540-1623) Rorate caeli desuper
(Gradualia I, 1605) [4:42]
Thomas TALLIS Gloria (Missa Puer natus est)
[9:28]
William BYRD Tollite portas (Gradualia I)
[2:10]
Thomas TALLIS Sanctus & Benedictus (Missa Puer
natus est) [8:55]
William BYRD Ave Maria (Gradualia I) [2:08]
Thomas TALLIS Agnus Dei (Missa Puer natus est)
[8:23]
William BYRD Ecce virgo concipiet (Gradualia I)
[2:15]
Robert WHITE (c.1538-1574)Magnificat [13:51]
Plainchant Puer natus est [1:11]
John SHEPPARD (c.1515-1558)Verbum caro [9:17]
rec. January 2010, All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak, London. [78:09]
Heavenly harmonies
Thomas TALLIS (c.1505-1585)
9 Psalm tunes for Archbishop Parker's psalter (1567). Third tune: Why
fum'th in fight? [0:56]
William BYRD (1539/40-1623) Vigilate (Cantiones Sacrae I,
1589) [4:16]
Thomas TALLIS Fifth tune: E'en like the hunted hind
[1:04]
William BYRD Ne irascaris Domine (CS I) [9:38]
Thomas TALLIS Second tune: Let God arise [0:51]
William BYRD Exsurge Domine (Cantiones Sacrae II, 1591)
[4:30]
Thomas TALLIS Sixth tune: Expend, O Lord [1:10]
William BYRD Infelix ego (CS II) [16:03]
Thomas TALLIS Eighth tune: God grant with grace
[1:34]
William BYRD Laetentur coeli (CS I) [3:39]
Thomas TALLIS First tune: Man blest no doubt [1:11]
William BYRD Quis est homo (CS II) [7:13]
Thomas TALLIS Veni Creator: Come Holy Ghost [0:31]
William BYRD Mass Propers for Pentecost (Gradualia II,
1607): Introit: Spiritus Domini [4:31]; Ofertory: Confirma hoc Deus [2:08];
Communion: Factus est repente [1:43]
Thomas TALLIS Seventh tune: Why brag'st in malice
[0:47]
William BYRD Tribulationes civitatum (CS I) [10:27]
Thomas TALLIS Fourth tune: O come in one to praise the
Lord [0:59]
William BYRD Laudibus in sanctis (CS II) [5:34]
rec. All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak, London, May 2007 [78:51]
The Phoenix Rising
William BYRD (c.1540-1623)
Ave verum corpus [4:08]
Mass for five voices [21:02]
Orlando GIBBONS (1583-1625)
O clap your hands together [5:34]
Almighty and everlasting God [2:17]
Thomas MORLEY (1557-1602)
Nolo mortem peccatoris [3:13]
Thomas TALLIS (c.1505-1585)
Salvator Mundi (I) [3:20]
In ieiunio et fletu [4:38]
John TAVERNER (c.1490-1545)
O splendor gloriae [12:53]
Robert WHITE (c.1538-1574)
Portio mea [6:53]
Christe qui lux es et dies (IV) [6:23]
rec. November 2012, St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London
[74:34]
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