THE TALLIS SCHOLARS AT 30: SOME DOWNLOAD RECOMMENDATIONS
FROM THE GIMELL CATALOGUE
Brian Wilson
This seemed like a good time to do for the
Gimell download catalogue what I recently did in recommending
my choice of thirty downloads from the Hyperion catalogue -
here.
What began as a ‘top 30’ ended as a survey of the complete catalogue.
This article should be read in conjunction
with John Quinn’s recent interview
with Peter Phillips and Steve Smith. Where I haven’t commented
on the quality of the performance and/or recording, that is
simply because it would be boring to keep repeating how good
the standard of both is throughout. I sometimes mention alternatives
by other prestigious groups such as The Sixteen and rising stars
such as the Brabant Ensemble, but these are usually best regarded
as supplementary to the Tallis Scholars on Gimell.
I hope that the following will be of equal
interest and value to those who have not yet stuck their toes
in the download water, since what I have to say applies equally
to the equivalent Gimell CDs and DVDs, not all of which have
been reviewed here on MWI. Beginners will, however, find the
Gimell download engine one of the smoothest to operate.
All the recordings were made by The Tallis
Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips. I’ve started with Sarum
Chant, followed by the 2-for-1 bargain sets, indicating where
these overlap with some of the single CDs, then dealt with the
other music mainly in chronological order.
All the downloads mentioned here are available
in 320 kbps mp3 and wma or flac lossless format. Some of the
more recent are available, where indicated, as better-than-CD
24-bit recordings, some even in 5.1 surround sound. Make sure
that your system can deal with 24-bit recordings; otherwise
go for the ‘ordinary’ 16-bit CD quality. If you wish to try
the ‘Super’ versions, make sure that your system can cope with
24-bit/96kHz – Squeezebox, for example, won’t. Gimell offer
test files. In all the cases where I have been able to make
comparisons, I have found the lossless downloads to be in no
way inferior to the CDs and, where I have tried them, the mp3s
are little inferior. Subscribers to the Naxos Music Library
can try all these recordings before purchase and, often, compare
rival versions.
Texts and translations are always included
as pdf documents.
SARUM
CHANT
Missa in gallicantu [39:00]; Christe Redemptor omnium
[3:44]; Veni, Redemptor gentium [4:30]; Salvator mundi,
Domine [2:30]; A solis ortus cardine [4:57]
CDGIM017 [54:50] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
A valuable collection of plainsong from the
Sarum or Salisbury rite, the most commonly employed use in late
medieval England. Be aware, however, that the Missa in gallicantu,
or ‘cockcrow’ Mass for Christmas is duplicated on CDGIM202,
Christmas with the Tallis Scholars (below).
The
Essential Tallis Scholars
Gregorio ALLEGRI (1582-1652)
Miserere* [12:28]
Tomás Luis de VICTORIA
(1548–1611) Ave Maria for double choir [4:49]
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA (c.1525-1594)
Sicut lilium I [4:45]
JOSQUIN des Prés (c.1440-1521)
Præter rerum seriem [7:21]
Thomas CRECQUILLON (c.1505/10-1557)
Pater peccavi [8:39]
Jacob CLEMENS Non Papa (c.1510-c.1555)
Ego flos campi [4:09]
Heinrich ISAAC (c.1450-1517)
Tota pulchra es [8:57]
Cipriano de RORE (c.1515-c.1565)
Descendi in hortum meum [5:26]
Orlandus LASSUS (1532-1594)
Alma Redemptoris Mater [3:07]; Salve Regina
[3:58]; Ave Regina cælorum [3.52]
Antoine BRUMEL (c.1450-c.1520)
Missa Et ecce terræ motus: Gloria [9:36]
John SHEPPARD (c.1515-c.1559)
Media vita [21:34]
Thomas TALLIS (c.1505-1585)
In manus tuas [2:11]; O nata lux [2:05]; Audivi
vocem [4:11]
Robert WHITE (c.1538-1574) Exaudiat
te Dominus [9:46]
William CORNYSH (d.1523) Ah,
Robin [2:31]; Salve regina [13:51]
William BYRD (1543-1623) Mass
for 5 voices [22:23] - rec. 1980-1998. AAD*/DDD.
CDGIM201 [2 CDs for the price of one: 156:00] – from
Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless.
- See review
by Michael Cookson.
This looks as if it should be the ideal place
to begin and, to some extent, it is. I have just two reservations:
buy this two-for-one budget-price set and you’ll want some –
probably all – of the constituent CDs. For my taste, too, there
is too much of a mixture of style, though all the performances
are excellent and the recordings remarkably consistent over
such a long period of time.
The earliest recording here, that of the Allegri,
comes from the Tallis Scholars’ first recording, originally
released on the Classics for Pleasure label and it sets the
tone for 2½ hours of wonderful music, wonderfully presented.
It also makes my point about wanting more – you may well find
yourself turning next to GIMSE401 (below) for the remainder
of that programme, and/or one or more of their other, later
recordings of the same work. Remember that all the tracks are
separately priced; if you buy other Gimell recordings but find
yourself missing some of the items here, you can always download
them separately.
Renaissance
Giants
Thomas TALLIS (c.1505-1585)
Spem in alium [9:58]
John TAVERNER (c.1490-1545)
Western Wind Mass [32.18]
Josquin DES PRÉS (c.1440-1521)
Missa Pange lingua [29:47]
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA
(c.1525-1594) Missa Brevis [21:38]
William BYRD (1543-1623) Mass
for four voices [22:06]
Tomás Luis da VICTORIA
(1548-1611) Requiem [35:26]
rec. Merton College Chapel, Oxford,1984-1986; Salle Church,
Norfolk,1993; St.John, Hackney, London, 1987. DDD.
CDGIM207 [2 CDs for the price of one: 72:03 + 79:10]
– from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
- See review
by Dominy Clements.
If you have bought and liked – and how could
you not? – The Essential Tallis Scholars, this second
twofer could well be your next stop. To Byrd’s 5-part Mass on
the earlier programme, it adds an equally recommendable version
of its 4-part sibling – but here’s the rub again; you will also
want the 3-part Mass to complete the set, which will mean duplicating
the two Masses which you already have. You could obtain the
3-part Mass from other performers, but the three Masses usually
come together these days. In every other respect, this is a
truly worthwhile bargain: the pieces here are more substantial
than on CDGIM201, the performances and recording once again
wonderful, and the price is right.
The
Tallis Scholars Sing Tudor Music: Volume 1
John BROWNE (d.1505) Salve
regina I [13:23]; Stabat iuxta [12:25]; Stabat
mater [15:56]; O regina mundi clara [13:55]; O
Maria salvatoris [15:39]
William CORNYSH (d.1523) Gaude
virgo mater Christi [5:30]
John TAVERNER (c.1490-1545)
Western Wind Mass [32:23]
William CORNYSH Salve
regina [13:53]; Ave Maria, mater Dei [3:13]
Christopher TYE (c.1505-c.1573)
Western Wind Mass [27:19]
rec. Salle Church, Norfolk, 1988), 1993, 2005. DDD.
CDGIM209 [2 CDs for the price of one: 76:42 + 76:50]
- from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
The
Tallis Scholars Sing Tudor Music: Volume 2
John SHEPPARD (c.1515-1558) Media
vita [21:45]; Christe redemptor omnium [4:46];
Reges Tharsis [5:04]; Sacris solemniis [7:32];
In manus tuas I [3:28]; In manus tuas II [2:56];
In manus tuas III [2:54]; Verbum caro [6:57];
Western Wind Mass [20:33]
Thomas TALLIS (c.1505-1585)
In ieiunio et fletu [4:44]; O salutaris hostia
[3:02]; O nata lux [2:06]
Robert WHITE (c.1538-1574)Magnificat
[14:48]; Portio mea [7:15]; Regina cæli
[3:57]; Christe, qui lux es III [4:55]; Christe, qui
lux es IV [5:08]; Exaudiat te Dominus [9:46]; Lamentations
(5vv.) [22:05]
rec. Salle Church, Norfolk, 1989, 1992 , 1993, 1995. DDD.
CDGIM 210 [2 CDs for the price of one: 75:58 + 77:48]
– from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
John BROWNE Music from
the Eton Choirbook
CDGIM036 – the entire contents of this recording are
included on CDGIM209 (above)
John SHEPPARD Media
vita
CDGIM016 – the entire contents of this recording are
included on CDGIM209 (above)
Robert WHITE Tudor Church
Music
CDGIM030 – the entire contents of this recording are
included on CDGIM210 (above)
When I made CDGIM209 and CDGIM210
jointly Bargain of the Month – see review
– I was tempted to write that I didn’t know of a greater bargain
among recordings of 16th-century English music. I
didn’t say that, because I thought that I might be tempting
providence and, since then, Hyperion’s 10-CD set of recordings
of this repertoire by The Sixteen has at least rivalled it.
(CDS44401/10, Bargain of the Month – see review
and review).
Rivalled, but not superseded, because there is nothing by Tallis
in that Hyperion set, as there is here. There is nothing by
Byrd in either set, but Gimell repair the omission with another
twofer, The Tallis Scholars Sing Byrd (see below).
You
will still need to worry about duplicating some of the music
here: Volume 1, for example, includes the whole of the contents
of Gimell’s CD of the music of Browne but only three works from
his near-contemporary Cornysh of the nine included on CDGIM014.
The Cornysh Salve Regina is duplicated from CDGIM201,
which also contains Ah Robin, but that still leaves five
pieces, including his very affective settings of Woefully
arrayed and Stabat Mater. You can purchase those
two pieces separately, but I shall suggest below that you should
also buy the whole Cornysh CD.
The second volume contains the whole contents
of Sheppard’s music on CDGIM016 and of the Gimell recording
of White’s music (CDGIM030), so, once again, there is no need
to purchase those CDs, though they remain in the catalogue.
There is a warning to this effect on the Gimell website, but
none to warn that the contents of CDGIM027, the Western Wind
Masses of Taverner, Tye and Sheppard are also duplicated on
CDGIM209 (Taverner and Tye) and CDGIM210 (Sheppard).
The representation on volume 2 of the composer
after whom the Tallis Scholars were named may seem sketchy,
but what we are offered here is only really a taster for yet
another 2-CD set, The Tallis Scholars Sing Tallis (see
below).
William
CORNYSH (d.1523)
Salve regina [13:53]; Ave Maria, mater Dei [3:10];
Gaude virgo mater Christi [5:24]; Magnificat [12:17];
Ah, Robin [2:27]; Adieu, adieu, my heartes lust [1:45]; Adieu,
courage [0:58]; Woefully arrayed [9:07]; Stabat mater
[15:42]
CDGIM014 [65.00] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
I wrote about this recording at some length
in my July
2009 Download Roundup so, perhaps, you
will excuse me for partly rehashing some of what I said then.
I predicted that those who fell in love with William Cornysh’s
music on CDGIM209 would want to obtain the complete programme
from which several items were taken. If you resisted then, I
apologise to your financial adviser for placing further temptation
in your way.
Three substantial works are included on CDGIM209,
and two more on CDGIM203.
Yet even if you have both these compilations,
CDGIM014 is worth having for the sake of the Magnificat,
with alternate verses in plainsong and polyphony, and the hauntingly
beautiful Woefully arrayed and Stabat mater. You
could purchase these three tracks separately – but that would
cost within pence the same as the whole CD.
If you really wish to economise, purchase Alto’s
recent reissue of the greater part of two Saga recordings of
music for Henry VII and Henry VIII (ALC1015, The Hilliard Ensemble
and New London Consort - see review),
a CD which offers Woefully arrayed and Ah, Robin along
with Cornysh’s Jolly rutterkin and other music from the
period. The review by Michael Greenhalgh, who thought the CD
offered ‘fine, well balanced performances’, contains a detailed
and perceptive comparison of the Hilliards’ Woefully arrayed
with The Tallis Scholars, to which I refer you. In fact, however,
it’s better to regard the Alto CD as a useful and inexpensive
supplement to the Gimell recordings rather than as a replacement
for them.
The two Saga CDs from which the Alto recording
derives still sound perfectly acceptable and they continue to
receive an outing in my CD player, but the Gimell performances
and recording are preferable. Please see also my January
2010 Download Roundup for a recording
by Christ Church Cathedral Choir of music from the Eton Choirbook
(AV2167).
John
TAVERNER (c.1490–1545)
Western Wind Mass [32:14]; ‘Leroy’ Kyrie [3:48]; Missa
Gloria Tibi Trinitas [35:03]; Dum transisset Sabbatum
[7:17] – rec.1984 and 1993. DDD.
CDGIM004 [79:19] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Gimell have turned the original rather short
CD with this catalogue number into a full-length programme with
the addition of the Western Wind Mass, but the advantage of
its inclusion is somewhat diminished by their making it available
also on CDGIM207 (above) and CDGIM209 (above), both budget price
2-CD sets. The Western Wind Mass is also available on CDGIM027
(Three Western Wind Masses), which is itself duplicated on CDGIM209
and CDGIM210 (above). If you have followed my recommendation
and purchased one or other of these twofers, you may prefer
to go for the rival recording of the Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas
by The Sixteen on the Hyperion Helios budget label (CDH55052,
on CD, or mp3 or lossless download – one of my Hyperion
Top 30). That, too, is rather short on
playing time, but the brevity is reflected in the reduced download
price of £4.99.
The
Tallis Scholars Sing Josquin
Plainchant: Pange lingua [3.45]
JOSQUIN
des Prés (c.1440–1521) Missa Pange
lingua [29:41]; Missa La sol fa re mi [28:44];
Praeter rerum seriem [7:22]; Ave Maria (4vv) [5:29]
Anonymous chanson: L’homme armé
[0:47];
JOSQUIN Missa
L’homme armé super voces musicales [40:24];
Missa L’homme armé sexti toni [33:05]
- rec. 1986, 1989, 1994. DDD.
CDGIM206[149:00] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
This set offers a wonderful introduction to
the music of Josquin, in earlier recordings. The Scholars have
recently embarked on a new series of recordings of Josquin (CDGIM039
and 042, below).
NB the whole of JOSQUIN
CDGIM019 (L’homme armé Masses) and CDGIM008
(Missa pange lingua and Missa la sol fa re mi)
are included on CDGIM206 (above)
JOSQUIN
des Prés Præter rerum seriem
[7:27]
Cipriano de RORE (c.1515-c.1565)
Missa Præter rerum seriem [29:28]
Infelix ego [12:15]; Parce mihi [11:09]; Ave
Regina caelorum [5:56]; Descendi in hortum meum [5:35]
- rec. St Peter and St Paul, Salle, Norfolk, UK, 1993. DDD.
CDGIM 029 [72:10] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Cipriano de RORE Mon
petit cueur [5:16]; Plange quasi virgo [5:10]; Mia
benigna fortuna [4:00]; Missa Præter rerum seriem
[28:48]; Schiet’arbuscel [4:09]; Calami sonum
ferentes [4:59]; Se ben il duol [4:32]; Dissimulare
etiam sperasti [7:41]
Huelgas Ensemble/Paul van Nevel
HARMONIA MUNDI HMC90 1760 [64:34] – from emusic.com
(mp3)
Both these recordings are so good that I’m
reduced to noting trivialities, not least of which is that the
Harmonia Mundi is deleted on CD – hopefully, to return at mid-price
– and available only as a download from eMusic or Amazon. Please
be aware, too, that the Tallis Scholars’ versions of the Josquin
and de Rore Masses praeter rerum seriem are also included
on twofers – Josquin on CDGIM206 (above) and de Rore on CDGIM211
(below).
As expected, The Tallis Scholars’ tempi are
all slower than those of the Huelgas Ensemble, with the exception
of the Kyrie where they are very similar and the Agnus
Dei, taken only once on Gimell instead of the usual three-fold
repetition, as on Harmonia. The couplings are very different
and complementary. I wouldn’t want to be without the Josquin
motet which opens the Gimell recording and is employed as the
cantus firmus of the Mass – there would have been room
to have included it on the Harmonia recording – but I equally
wouldn’t wish not to have the wonderful setting of Dido’s verbal
scourging of Æneas in Virgil’s words from Book IV of the
Æneid, which ends the Harmonia recording.
Josquin
des PRÉS Missa Sine Nomine [27:39];
Missa ad Fugam [31:30]
rec. Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Salle, Norfolk, England,
2007. DDD.
CDGIM039 [69:12]– from Gimell
on CD, mp3, lossless and 24-bit
See my review
(Recording of the Month) and review
by Robert Hugill: ‘Admirers of the Tallis Scholars will definitely
want [this disc]. Admirers of Josquin masses can buy [it] in
the secure knowledge that they will be getting near perfection
of execution’.
JOSQUIN
des Prés Missa Malheur me bat [39:46];
Missa Fortuna desperata [35:41]
rec. Chapel of Merton College, 2008. DDD.
CDGIM042 [75:27] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3, lossless and 24-bit
This CD is so good that it led me to change
my mind about making the Chandos recording of Purcell’s Dido
and Aeneas the sole Download of the Month; I had to settle
for giving them joint honours. (See my February
2009 Download Roundup, also my fuller
review
and review
by Mark Sealey).
The
Tallis Scholars sing Flemish Masters
Heinrich ISAAC (c.1450-1517)
Missa De Apostolis [29:14]
Johannes OCKEGHEM (c.1425-1497)
Missa Au travail suis [21:08]
Orlandus LASSUS (1532-1594)
Missa Osculetur me for double choir [21:57]
Cipriano De RORE (c.1515-1565)
Missa Præter rerum seriem [30:03]
Antoine BRUMEL (c.1460-c.1520)
Missa Et ecce terrae motus (The Earthquake Mass,
in 12 parts) [46:59]
rec. Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Salle, Norfolk, England,
1989-1997. DDD.
CDGIM211 [2CDs for the price of one: 72:22 + 77:02] -
from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
- See review
by Robert Hugill (Bargain of the Month)
My only reservations when I made this Reissue
of the Month in November 2009 (see review)
concerned the loss of the shorter works which accompanied these
masses in their original incarnations - a small price to pay
for most listeners, when the playing time of the new set is
so generous, the price so tempting, and a couple of those shorter
works feature on The Essential Tallis Scholars (CDGIM201,
above), but specialists will feel the loss, for example of the
Brumel Lamentations and Magnificat secundi toni
which complete CDGIM026. And, though the lossless download is
excellent - I cannot imagine the physical CDs sounding any better
- there are no 24-bit options for the new set, as there are
for the Ockeghem in its full-price format on CDGIM035. (Please
see below for this and other CDs from which this twofer has
been extracted).
Plainchant
Nigra sum [1.31]
Jean LHÉRITIER
(c.1480–after 1552) Nigra sum (5vv) [5.07]
Gilles
de Bins dit BINCHOIS(c.1400–1460) De plus
en plus [4.03]
Johannes OCKEGHEM(c.1425-1497)
Missa De plus en plus [34.19]
OCKEGHEM or BARGIGNANT
(fl.c.1470) Au travail suis [4.38]
Johannes OCKEGHEM Missa
Au travail suis [21:14]
rec. Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Salle, Norfolk, England,
1997. DDD.
CDGIM035 [64:21] – from Gimell
on mp3, lossless and 24-bit Studio Master
Ockeghem may be less well known than, say,
Josquin, and Lhéritier is but a shadowy name even to
most connoisseurs, but these two masses certainly deserve a
place in any collection of early renaissance music. As always,
Gimell help by preceding each mass with the relevant work which
inspired it. Be aware that the Missa de plus en plus
is duplicated on CDGIM211 (above) though there are no 24-bit
options for that set.
Gimell’s Studio Master 24-bit recording certainly
presses all the right buttons in terms of sound quality and
the performances are fully up to the standard we have come to
expect. Whatever competition there may be from other younger
ensembles, there will always be a place for performances of
this standard from The Tallis Scholars. (See also my October
2009 Download Roundup)
Heinrich
ISAAC (c.1450-1517) Missa de Apostolis [29:14]
Motets – Optime pastor [9:37]; Total pulchra es [8:56];
Regina cæli [6:12]; Resurrexi [8:40]; Virgo
prudentissima [12:21]
The Tallis Scholars/Peter Phillips (rec. 1991.
DDD)
CDGIM023 [74:50] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Isaac was highly thought of in his own day
and, though his reputation has diminished since, this recording
shows us why his contemporaries held him in high esteem. He’s
certainly too good to be remembered only for short pieces such
as his setting of Innspruck, ich muß dich lassen,
the tune of which is surprisingly similar to Bach’s oft-used
setting of O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden. The performances
and recording are fully commensurate with the high expectations
encouraged by Gimell’s other recordings. Be aware that the Missa
de apostolis is duplicated on CDGIM211.
Jacob
OBRECHT (1457/8-1505) Missa Maria Zart [69:25]
- rec. 1996. DDD
CDGIM032 [69:25] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Gary Higginson ended his recent review
of Obrecht’s Missa de Sancto Donatiano, on Fineline Classical
(FL72414) with some further recommendations of recordings of
Obrecht’s music, two of which I’m very happy to endorse – the
Gimell, as above, and Missa Caput, sung by Oxford Camerata
on Naxos 8.553210. The Naxos recording is available from classicsonline
(mp3) or passionato (mp3 or lossless); in each case, the mp3
download represents a small but useful saving over the CD, but
the passionato lossless comes at much the same price as the
physical product. The Gimell performance of this extraordinarily
long Mass setting is excellent and the download first-class.
Antoine
BRUMEL (c.1460–c.1520)
Missa Et ecce terrae motus The Earthquake Mass (in 12
parts) [47:06]; Lamentations [9:03]; Magnificat secundi toni
[16:47] – rec.1992. DDD
CDGIM026 [72:56] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Antoine Brumel’s Missa Et ecce terræ
motus is the only Mass which I know that is based on an
earthquake, albeit that it’s the one recorded in the New Testament
on the day of Jesus’s death. It’s no mere novelty work, especially
when it’s as well performed as it is here. Brumel’s Lamentations
and Magnificat secundi toni round off a most enjoyable
and well-filled recording of music from that fascinating late-medieval/renaissance
transitional period. The recording is very good and the booklet,
with its striking cover, is excellent. The Gloria from
the Mass is also available on The Essential Tallis Scholars
(CDGIM201, above) and the complete Mass on CDGIM211 (above)
but the Lamentations and Magnificat are also well worth
hearing: you could download them separately if you have purchased
CDGIM211.
The Brumel Lamentations are also contained
on
Lamenta:
The Lamentations of Jeremiah
Alfonso FERRABOSCO the
Elder (1534-1588) Lamentations 1 [9:59]
Thomas TALLIS (c.1505-1585)
Lamentations I [8:45]; Lamentations II [13:15]
Antoine BRUMEL (c.1460-c.1520)
Lamentations [9:05]
Robert WHITE (c.1538-1574)
Lamentations (5vv) [21:55]
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA
(c.1525-1594) Lamentations for Holy Saturday (Lesson 3,
6vv) [9:46]
rec. Church of St Peter and St Paul, Salle, Norfolk, England,
1992-98. DDD.
CDGIM996 [72:45] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
I reviewed this so recently that I’ll refer
you to what I wrote in my March
2010 Download Roundup. Let me remind you,
however, that, with the exception of the Ferrabosco, these recordings
all exist on other Gimell CDs, some on budget twofers – the
Tallis on The Tallis Scholars sing Tallis (CDGIM203),
the Palestrina on The Tallis Scholars sing Palestrina
(CDGIM204) and the White on The Tallis Scholars sing Tudor
Music 2 (CDGIM210). It is convenient to have the Lamentations
music together in this fashion; the parent discs also contain
other very valuable recordings, as in the case of Brumel’s Magnificat
on CDGIM206 above, but downloading that work separately would
solve the problem.
Nicolas
GOMBERT (c.1495–c.1560) Magnificats
with plainchant Antiphons
Antiphon [1.53]; Magnificat 1 Primi toni [11.29];
Antiphon [1.48]
Antiphon [0.42]; Magnificat 2 Secundi toni [11.09];
Antiphon [0.46]
Antiphon [0.32]; Magnificat 3 Tertii et octavi toni
[12.20] Antiphon [0.37]
Antiphon [0.24]; Magnificat 4 Quarti toni [12.07];
Antiphon [0.38] – rec. 2001. DDD.
CDGIM037 [54:25] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3, lossless and 24-bit
Antiphon [1.31]; Magnificat 5 Quinti toni [11.00];
Antiphon [1.22]
Antiphon [1.30]; Magnificat 6 Sexti et primi toni
[12.56]; Antiphon [1.34]
Antiphon [1.30]; Magnificat 7 Septimi toni [10.58];
Antiphon [1.34]
Antiphon [0.45]; Magnificat 8 Octavi toni [12.45];
Antiphon [0.58] – rec. 2002. DDD.
CDGIM038 [58:23] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3, lossless and 24-bit
The Vespers canticle Magnificat is preceded
and followed in the Roman rite by an antiphon appropriate to
the day and season in the liturgical year. A variety of antiphons
are employed on these two CDs which together present settings
in all eight tones. If eight Magnificats sounds like
too much of a good thing, the employment of the different tones
makes the programme varied.
There is a good Hyperion recording of music
by Gombert (CDA67614, Brabant Ensemble), but that is one to
move on to after these Gimell recordings – these CDs, which
began Gombert’s modern rehabilitation, are the place to start,
though the music contains what Peter Phillips describes in his
excellent notes as striking discords.
Philippe
VERDELOT( fl.1520–1550) Si bona suscepimus
[6:58]
Cristóbal de MORALES
(c.1500–1553) Missa Si bona suscepimus
[40:59]
Thomas CRECQUILLON (c.1505/10–1557)
Andreas Christi famulus [8:04] - rec. 2000. DDD.
CDGIM033 [56:01] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3, lossless and 24-bit
This CD restores the reputation of two important
but neglected composers. Morales was very highly regarded during
his life and afterwards. He receives a walk-on part in several
good recordings, as on the recent Coeperunt loqui (Cheltenham
College Choir, Herald HAVPCD351 – see review),
but there are still far too few, just a handful, devoted mainly
or entirely to him.
The fact that Crecquillon is more than a name
even to lovers of renaissance music is largely due to this recording
and to Hyperion’s Brabant Ensemble 2004 recording of the Missa
Mort m’a privé and other works (CDA67596 – see review);
the latter would be a good next move after the Gimell. There
are also two Hyperion recordings of Morales which are well worth
having: Magnificat, Motets and Lamentations (Brabant
Ensemble/Rice, CDA67694 – see review)
and the Christmas Mass Quaeramus cum pastoribus on the
budget Helios label (Westminster Cathedral/O’Donnell, CDH55276,
Bargain of the Month – see review).
It’s particularly interesting to hear the different style of
the Westminster Choir in Morales.
Francisco
GUERRERO (1528-1599)
Missa Surge propera [31:12]; Usquequo, Domine
[5:24]; Ave Maria [4:15]; Hei mihi, Domine [4:21];
Surge propera [7:21]; Beata Dei genitrix [6:22];
Ave virgo sanctissima [3:57]; Regina caeli laetare
[4:25]
rec. September 2004, Temple Church, London. DDD
CDGIM 040 [66:57] – from Gimell
on CD, SACD (GIMSA540) , mp3, lossless and 24-bit
The performances of the music on this Guerrero
recording are of the usual high Tallis Scholars quality and
the recording is excellent. See review
by Adam Binks (Recording of the Month): ‘From the opening of
the Missa Surge propera, this recording does not disappoint
and makes a substantial and welcome contribution to the Guerrero
discography – a fantastic marriage of choir and repertoire’.
Orlandus
LASSUS (1532-1594): Missa Osculetur me [21:43];
Hodie completi sunt [5:03]; Timor et tremor [4:25];
Alma redemptoris mater [3:06]; Salve regina [3:56];
Ave regina cælorum [3:50]; Regina cæli
[3:02] - rec. 1989. DDD
CDGIM018 [48:39] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Supplementary recommendation: La Quinta Essentia
Orlando LASSUS:
Missa ‘Tous les regretz’; Thomas
ASHEWELL:
Missa ‘Ave Maria’; Giovanni
PALESTRINA:
Missa Ut re mi fa sol la
Huelgas Ensemble/Paul van Nevel
Harmonia Mundi HMC90 1922 [77:10] – from eMusic.
Two excellent recordings of music by Lassus,
from both of which I derived great pleasure. The Harmonia Mundi
coupling with Ashewell is particularly attractive and neatly
complements – indeed, surpasses – the Christ Church recording
of the latter’s music which I recently recommended. Listening
again to music by Ashewell, the man who may have been Taverner’s
teacher and predecessor at Cardinal College, I think I judged
him a little harshly when I referred
to his music as ‘workaday’; in fact, this Mass stands comparison
with those first-rate early Tudor composers who were his successors.
The all-Lassus Gimell recording contains excellent
performances of the calibre which the very name of the Tallis
Scholars practically guarantees. My only reservation is that
this CD now offers short value - it could benefit from the kind
of reissue with extra music that Gimell have been giving to
some of their other early recordings – and, of course, it duplicates
Missa osculetur me from CDGIM211. The Harmonia Mundi
recording is much more generous in terms of time, but the eMusic
download comes without texts and notes; full documentation to
print out with the Gimell, as usual.
Thomas
TALLIS (c.1505-1585)
The Tallis Scholars sing Thomas Tallis: Spem in alium
[9:59]; Sancte Deus [5:15]; Salvator mundi, salva
nos I [2:21]; Salvator mundi, salva nos II [2:35];
Gaude gloriosa [16:45]; Miserere nostri [2:31];
Loquebantur variis linguis [3:42]; If ye love me [2:07];
Hear the voice and prayer [3:02]; A new commandment [2:42];
O Lord, give thy Holy Spirit [2:17]; Purge me, O Lord [1:43];
Verily, verily I say unto you [1:42]; Remember not, O Lord God
[3:45]; Tunes for Archbishop Parker’s Psalter [7:53]; O Lord,
in thee is all my trust [2:56]; Christ rising again [4:35];
Blessed are those that be undefiled [3:46]; Lamentations of
Jeremiah I [8:56]; Lamentations of Jeremiah II [13:13]; Absterge
Domine [6:13]; O sacrum convivium [3:39]; In manus
tuas [2:10]; Salve intemerata [17:20]; Magnificat
(4vv) [11:57]; Ave Dei patris filia [16:20]
CDGIM203 [2 CDs for the price of one: 219:00] – from
Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless.
The Tallis Scholars are not limited to the
music of their namesake, but their performances of his music
are something special. Compare their versions of the two sets
of Lamentations with the classic King’s College, Cambridge accounts
under David Willcocks on a Decca 2-CD set (455 0292) and the
difference is immediately apparent: Peter Phillips never rushes
things, allowing us plenty of time to perceive the beauty and,
in this case, the sorrowfulness of the music, but his tempi
are noticeably faster than those of Willcocks. Don’t write the
King’s versions off – there is music here which is not included
on the Gimell and these were model performances for their time
– but the Gimell set is much more satisfying.
This 2-CD set contains the whole of CDGIM006:
Spem in alium, and all but one short piece from CDGIM007:
The Complete English Anthems. The final eight items come
from CDGIM025: Lamentations of Jeremiah. The one missing
piece of English music, Out of the deep, runs for just
1:48 and can be downloaded separately for just £0.99. The three
short items omitted from CDGIM025 are also available separately
for £0.99 each.
If you are looking for absolute completeness,
however, you might be better served by Chapelle du Roi under
Alistair Dixon on Signum and available as downloads from classicsonline
and, slightly less expensively, from passionato (both 320k mp3).
The super-budget-price 2-CD set extracted from Chapelle du Roi’s
recordings, which I made Recording of the Month some time ago
– see review
– remains available on Regis RRC2090 or Portrait PLC2101 – it’s
available even less expensively than the Gimell and I find it
hard to recommend either set of performances at the expense
of the other. At these prices I recommend that you buy both.
Thomas
TALLIS
Lamentations of Jeremiah I [8:57]; Lamentations of Jeremiah
II [13:13]; Absterge Domine [6:11]; Derelinquat impius
[3:54]; Mihi autem nimis [2:36]; O sacrum convivium
[3:38]; In ieiunio et fletu [4:32]; O salutaris hostia
[3:01]; In manus tuas [2:07]; O nata lux [2:02];
Salve intemerata 1 [7:27]
CDGIM025 [67:36] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
The Complete English Anthems
CDGIM007 [38:05] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Spem in alium and other works
CDGIM006 [43:06] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
All but one of the works on CDGIM007, most
of those on CDGIM025 and all those on CDGIM006 are duplicated
on The Tallis Scholars Sing Tallis (CDGIM203, above),
(Tudor Music 2 CDGIM210, above) and Lamenta (CDGIM996,
above). Any items which you do not obtain via one or more of
those sets can be downloaded, separately, including Out of
the deep from CDGIM007.
The Tallis Christmas Mass: Thomas
TALLIS Missa Puer natus
est nobis [23:54]; Audivi vocem [4:09]; Magnificat
(4vv) [11;56]; Ave Dei patris filia [16:19]
CDGIM034 [56:00] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3, lossless and 24-bit Studio Master.
The contents of this CD are available on other Gimell recordings
(see below)
Christmas
with the Tallis Scholars
Medieval Carols and German Chorales (from CDGIM010, below);
JOSQUIN des Prés (c.1440-1521)
Ave Maria for four voices [5:25]
Philippe VERDELOT (1480/85-c.1530/32?
d. before 1552) Beata es virgo / Ave Maria [5:40]
Tomás Luis de VICTORIA
Ave Maria for four voices (attributed) [2:15] Ave
Maria for double choir [4:51]
Jacobus CLEMENS Non Papa (c.1510/15-c.1555/6)
Pastores quidnam vidistis [4:43]; Missa Pastores
quidnam vidistis [31:15]
Christmas Chant from Salisbury, including Missa in gallicantu
(Christmas Mass ‘at cock-crow’) [39:04]
TALLIS Missa Puer natus
(as above) [23:54] - rec. 1986-1998. DDD
CDGIM202 [2 CDs for the price of one: 157:00] – from
Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless. (See also my more detailed review
of the CDs and review
by Colin Clarke)
Philip and Mary: A Marriage of England and Spain
Pierre de MANCHICOURT (1510-1564)
Jubilate Deo [6:17];
John SHEPPARD Reges Tharsis
[4:54];
De MANCHICOURT Reges
terræ [6:10]
Thomas TALLIS Suscipe
quæso [9:41]
Francisco GUERRERO (1528-1589)
Ave virgo sanctissima [4:34]; Ave Maria [4:19]; Pastores
loquebantur [6:09]
Thomas TALLIS Missa Puer
Natus: Gloria [10:57]; Sanctus [4:39]; Benedictus
[3:39]; Agnus Dei [8:49]
John SHEPPARD Libera
nos [3:28]
CORO COR16037 [75:03] – from classicsonline, theclassicalshop
and emusic (all mp3)
Both these recording feature Tallis’s Christmastide
Mass, Puer natus est nobis, probably written in anticipation
of the baby which Philip of Spain and the English Queen Mary
Tudor were hoping would ensure that England remained faithful
to the Roman communion. As it happened, the expected infant
turned out to be a tumour, but the music reflects the hopes,
not the disappointment. On Gimell, a complete performance is
coupled with three shorter pieces – a fairly short CD and one
whose contents are duplicated, the Mass on the Christmas CD
and the other pieces on The Tallis Scholars Sing Tallis
and The Essential Tallis Scholars. If you must have one
of the 24-bit versions, however, you need to choose CDGIM034.
As well as the Tallis Christmas Mass, CDGIM202
includes another piece of Christmas music suitable for listening
all year round, the Missa Pastores Quidnam vidistis by
Clemens, who joking referred to himself as ‘non papa’ – Clement,
but not Pope Clement, from CDGIM013
– available on CD, mp3 and lossless. Though the major contents
of this are included on the Christmas album, three items are
not; these can be downloaded separately, including the beautiful
Ego flos campi, which is also to be found on The Essential
Tallis Scholars. Or choose the Coro recording of the Tallis
Mass (see below) and download the Clemens single CD.
On Coro – their own in-house label – The Sixteen
offer the four extant sections of the Mass in the company of
other music of the period, by English and Spanish composers.
I’m inclined to give the Coro recording a slight edge over the
Gimell, for the variety of the music if for nothing else. In
some cases The Sixteen are a little faster than the Scholars,
though they take the Gloria and Agnus Dei from
the Tallis Christmas Mass more slowly: both tempi work well
in context. Their version of Suscipe quæso also
benefits from being a little slower than the version sung by
The Cardinall’s Musick on Hyperion (see below).
Despite their name, the Tallis Scholars are not the only players
in what is becoming a competitive field. The following are well
worth considering, as supplements to the Gimell recordings,
rather than as competitors:
Thomas TALLIS Jesu salvator
sæculi [4:14]; Gaude gloriosa [17:20]; Sermone
blando angelus [5:16]; Magnificat a5 [10:28]; Nunc
dimittis a5 [3:15]; Mihi autem nimis [2:28]; Absterge
Domine [5:49]; Derelinquat impius [3:55]; Loquebantur
variis linguis [3:58]; Suscipe quæso, Domine [9:05];
O nata lux [1:57]
The Cardinall’s Musick/Andrew Carwood – rec. Arundel Castle,
2005. DDD.
HYPERION CDA67548 [67:45] – from Hyperion
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Where the Hyperion recording is in direct
competition with the Gimell, for example in Gaude gloriosa,
I must express a preference for the Scholars: in this piece,
the slightly slower tempo and the slight insecurity of the lower
voices on Hyperion make me prefer the Gimell recording. Chapelle
du Roi on Volume 3 of their complete series (Signum SIGCD003,
Music for Queen Mary) are also just that little faster than
The Cardinall’s Musick and their performance comes off very
well. Subscribers to the Naxos Music Library can compare the
Signum recording here
with the Gimell here.
There is, however, enough wonderful music on
the Hyperion which is not included in the Gimell set, and enough
fine singing in most of the programme for me to recommend this
as an extra purchase. That the recordings of The Cardinall’s
Musick should be in the same league as the Scholars is hardly
surprising, since Andrew Carwood, their director, has sung with
The Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen.
Christmas
Carols and Motets
Medieval Carols: Angelus ad virginem [2:35]; Nowell
sing we [3:02]; There is no rose [3:34]; Nowell: Dieu vous
garde [4:02]
The Coventry Carol: Lullay: I saw [2:16]; Lully, lulla,
thou little tiny child [3:17]; William
BYRD Lullaby [6:27]
JOSQUIN Ave Maria four
voices [5:22]; Philippe VERDELOT
Beata es virgo/Ave Maria, 7vv [5:37]; attrib
VICTORIA Ave Maria, 4vv [2:15]; VICTORIA
Ave Maria double choir [4:43]
Michael and Heinrich PRAETORIUS and
J S BACH German Chorales: Es ist ein’Ros’
[3:06]; Joseph, lieber Joseph [2:30]; In dulci jubilo
[3:37]; Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme [4:07] – rec.1986.
DDD.
CDGIM010 [56:59] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Much of this is included on the 2-CD set CDGIM202,
above, but you may feel when Christmas approaches that there
is enough extra here to warrant downloading this album, too.
Both are a cut or two above your usual Yuletide offerings.
Jacob
CLEMENS non Papa Pastores
quidnam vidistis [4:46]; Missa Pastores quidnam
vidistis [27:58]; Tribulationes civitatum [5:15];
Pater peccavi [8:36]; Ego flos campi [4:11]
CDGIM013 [54:15] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
The Christmas Mass, Pastores quidnam vidistis,
is included on CDGIM202, above, but the other music of this
composer who jokingly called himself ‘Clement, but not Pope
Clement’, is well worth downloading separately. In the interview
with John Quinn, Steve Smith chose this as his ‘Desert Island’
recording, for reasons that I fully understand.
Requiem
Tomás Luis de VICTORIA (1548–1611)
Requiem [35:31]; Versa est in luctum [3:49]
Duarte LÔBO (c.1565–1646)
Requiem for six voices [40:13]
Manuel CARDOSO (c.1566–1650)
Requiem [47:29]; Non mortui [3:59]; Sitivit
anima mea [3:48]; Mulier quae erat [3:24]; Nos
autem gloriari [2:03]
Alonso LOBO (1555–1617)
Versa est in luctum [4:13]; Credo quod redemptor
[3:15]; Vivo ego, dicit Dominus [2:53]; Ave Maria
[4:29] – rec. 1987-1997. DDD.
CDGIM205 [2 CDs for the price of one: 155:00] – from
Gimell
Please see my detailed review
of this set and of the Duarte Lôbo album (CDGIM028, below)
VICTORIA Requiem
CDGIM012 – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
The whole of this recording, apart from the Tallis Scholars’
first recording of Alonso Lobo’s Versa est in luctum
(from CDGIM031) is contained on CDGIM205 (above), which also
contains their second recording of the Lobo piece.
Francisco
GUERRERO (1528–1599) Maria Magdalene [8:07]
Alonso LOBO Missa Maria
Magdalene [28:48]; O quam suavis es, Domine[4:27];
Quam pulchri sunt gressus tui [3:29]; Ave regina caelorum
[3:34]; Versa est in luctum [4:11]; Credo quod
redemptor [3:13]; Vivo ego, dicit Dominus [2:50];
Ave Maria [4:30]
CDGIM031 [63:09] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Four of the Lobo works on this CD are contained
on CDGIM205 (above) but the Missa Maria Magdalene is
well worth the extra cost of this recording or of downloading
it separately.
Duarte
LÔBO Requiem for six voices [40:13];
Missa Vox clamantis [25:24]
CDGIM028 [65:48] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 or lossless
The Requiem is included on CDGIM205
(above), but the Missa Vox clamantis is worth purchasing
separately for £6.03 (mp3) or £6.95 (CD quality).
Manuel CARDOSO (c.1566–1650)
Requiem [47:17]; Non mortui [3:57]; Sitivit
anima mea [3:46]; Mulier quae erat [3:23]; Nos
autem gloriari [2:05]; Magnificat secundi toni
5vv [9:50] – rec: 1990. DDD.
CDGIM021 [70:19] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 or lossless
All but the Magnificat secundi toni from CDGIM021 are
included on Requiem (CDGIM205 above). Download that separately
for £1.58 (mp3) or £1.98 (CD quality)
Tomás
Luis de VICTORIA (1548–1611) Lamentations of Jeremiah
(1585)
Lamentations for Maundy Thursday - Lamentation I SSATB [6:20];
Lamentation II SSATB [5:42]; Lamentation III SSAATB [6:19]
Lamentations for Good Friday - Lamentation I SAATB [4:01]; Lamentation
II SSATB [5:35]; Lamentation III SSAATB [4:51]
Lamentations for Holy Saturday - Lamentation I SSATTB [5:13];
Lamentation II SSATB [5:53]; Lamentation III SSAATTBB [8:24]
Juan Gutiérrez de PADILLA
(c.1590–1664)
Lamentations for Maundy Thursday SSATTB [11:48]
CDGIM043 [64:08] – from Gimell
on CD,mp3, lossless and 24-bit
For Gimell’s latest recording, I refer you
to my March
2010 Download Roundup, including a comparison
with a Hyperion recording, and to reviews by Gavin Dixon here
and John Quinn (Recording of the Month) here.
I was interested to read in the interview with Peter Phillips
that this would be his ‘Desert Island’ choice; it’s certainly
well up to the standard of anything that the Scholars have ever
produced.
VICTORIA
Tenebrae Responsories: Amicus meus
[3:05]; Iudas mercator pessimus [2:25]; Unus ex discipulis
meis [3:47]; Eram quasi agnus [3:16]; Una
hora [2:50]; Seniores populi [4:30]; Tamquam ad
latronem [3:33]; Tenebrae factae sunt [4:01]; Animam
meam dilectam [7:00]; Tradiderunt me [2:43]; Iesum
tradidit impius [3:01]; Caligaverunt oculi me
[5:43]; Recessit pastor noster [3:01]; O vos omnes
[2:48]; Ecce quomodo moritur [4:53]; Astiterunt reges
[2:01]; Aestimatus sum [2:28]; Sepulto Domino
[4:34] – rec. 1990. DDD.
CDGIM022 [65:57] – from Gimell on CD, mp3 and lossless
I gave the Westminster Cathedral recording
of these Holy Week responsories (Hyperion CDA66304) a slight
edge over the Gimell in my March 2010 Download Roundup more
out of a desire for even-handedness than anything, having praised
the new Lamentations recording so enthusiastically. There
is, in fact, little to choose between the two, other than a
choice between a cathedral choir rather more attuned to the
music of the Roman rite than its Anglican counterparts and the
sheer professionalism of the Tallis Scholars.
Gregorio
ALLEGRI (1582-1652) Miserere [12:31]
William MUNDY (c.1529-1591)
Vox Patris cælestis [19:16]
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA (c.1525-1594)
Missa Papæ Marcelli [36:34] - rec. Chapel of Merton
College, Oxford 1980. AAD
GIMSE 401 [68:40] – from Gimell
on CD and in mp3 and lossless.
- See review
by John Quinn.
Live
in Rome
PALESTRINA Surge, illuminare
[3:16]; Missa Papæ Marcelli [33:02]
ALLEGRI Miserere
[13:52]
PALESTRINA Stabat mater
[10:01]; Alma Redemptoris Mater [3:33]; Magnificat
primi toni (8vv) [8:40]; Nunc dimittis (8vv) [4:06]
rec. Santa Maria Maggiore, 2 and 3 February, 1994. DDD
CDGIM994 [73:19] – from Gimell
on CD and in mp3 and lossless. Also on DVD GIMDP903
(PAL) or GIMDN904
(NTSC)
ALLEGRI
Miserere [13:41]
PALESTRINA Stabat mater
[9.51]; Missa Papæ Marcelli [31:52]; Tu es Petrus
(6vv) [6:51]
ALLGERI Miserere
(with additional embellishments) [13:48] - rec. Chapel
of Merton College, Oxford, 30-31 March and 3-4 April, 2005.
DDD.
CDGIM041 [76.05] – from Gimell
on CD and in mp3, lossless, 24-bit Studio Master, Studio Master
5.1, Studio Master Pro and Studio Master Pro 5.1.
Supplementary recommendation:
PALESTRINA Missa Papæ
Marcelli [38:34]; Missa Brevis [28:31]
Choir of Westminster Cathedral/David Hill
rec. Westminster Cathedral, May, 1987. DDD.
HYPERION CDA66266 [67:05] – from Hyperion
(CD, mp3 and lossless)
For some reason, the Tallis Scholars’ 1980
recording also remains available at full price on CDGIM339,
but with a clear reminder that the above issue offers better
value. This is where it all began, introducing us not only to
the Scholars themselves but also to the music of Anthony Mundy:
I don’t think I had heard any of his music before I bought this
recording on Classics for Pleasure. The Palestrina and Allegri,
of course, were already well known, but the quality of the singing
was revelatory: apart from a handful of recordings by the Clerkes
of Oxenford under David Wulstan, whose recording of Tallis and
Sheppard is still well worth having (Classics for Pleasure 5759822,
at budget price), there had been little of this quality.
The strongest competition to these Tallis Scholars
recordings comes from the Westminster Cathedral Choir on Hyperion,
recorded five years after the first of their Gimell recordings
and generally at a slightly more sedate pace. I leave it to
you to make the impossible judgement between the mixed professional
group and the male voices of the Westminster choir, whose sound
may well be closer to what Palestrina himself heard in Rome
– how can we be sure? The coupled Missa Brevis is also
superbly sung and the whole well recorded, but please note that
Gimell have another trick up their sleeve – these two masses
are coupled, together with other music, on The Tallis Scholars
Sing Palestrina, at budget price. (See below). In an ideal
world you need every one of the recordings of the Pope Marcellus
Mass listed above.
Seven years later again, the Scholars took
a unique opportunity to record Palestrina live in Rome 400 years
after his death. The result, on CD, download and DVD, is well
worth having even if you already have the earlier Gimell or
the Hyperion recording of the Marcellus Mass. The DVD version
is recorded in 4:3 format only but, in every other respect,
it surpasses the audio-only version, a reminder of a memorable
occasion but musically extremely valuable, too. In the years
since their first recording, the performance of the Mass had
become faster – though never to the detriment of the music –
while their version of the Miserere had become broader.
I have absolutely no quarrel with John France’s nomination of
this as one of his Desert Island discs: Recording of the Month
– see review.
The third recording was made in 2005. The interpretations
of the Marcellus Mass and Miserere remain much the same
as in Rome but the recording is offered in a wider variety of
formats, including two surround-sound versions. The 24-bit/48
kHz Studio Master recording sounds well – if, like me, you listen
to downloads via Squeezebox, there is no point in going for
a higher version than this. The live recording in Rome has a
real sense of occasion, but you could hardly go wrong with this
third version, either.
If you are looking for a budget-price version
of the Missa Papæ Marcelli, you could do much worse
than the recent Alto reissue of Pro Cantione Antiqua’s recording,
now more attractively coupled than in its earlier ASV incarnation
with the Missa L’homme armé on ALC1061 – see review.
The Gimell and Hyperion alternatives, however, are worth the
extra for their more luminous top lines.
Just to complicate matters, the 1980 version
of Missa Papæ Marcelli is also included on a 2-for-1
special:
The
Tallis Scholars Sing Palestrina
Plainchant Assumpta est Maria in cælum [0:27];
PALESTRINA Assumpta est
Maria in cælum [7:13]; Missa Assumpta est Maria
in cælum [29:44]; Sicut lilium inter spinas
I [4:42]; Missa Sicut lilium inter spinas [29:16]; Lamentations
for Holy Saturday (Lesson 3, 6vv) [9:56]; Missa Brevis
[21:24]; Missa Papæ Marcelli [36:49] - rec. Merton
College Chapel, Oxford, and Salle Church, 1980 (AAD), 1989 and
1998 (DDD).
CDGIM204 [2CDs for the pirce of one: 139:00] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless.
The inclusion of the Missa Brevis on
this recording puts it in direct competition with the Hyperion
above, and the 2-for-1 offer makes it less expensive than the
latter. As in the case of the Marcellus Mass, the Westminster
Cathedral recording is more expansive. Both are highly desirable,
but the Gimell is made more so by the inclusion of the beautiful
Lamentations and the two Marian masses. You could always purchase
this twofer and download selected tracks from the other recordings
to complete your collection without duplication. The same applies
to some of the other twofers listed below – a real advantage
of downloading.
PALESTRINA
Missa Nigra sum [35:20]
Tomás Luis de VICTORIA (1548–1611)
Nigra sum [4:01]
Andreas de SILVA (c.1475/80
- c.1530) Nigra sum [1:55] - rec. Merton College
Chapel, Oxford, 1983. AAD.
CDGIM003 [47:54] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
Gimell’s earlier albums serve as a reminder
of the quality of their earlier 16-bit recordings which don’t
have a 24-bit equivalent. This, in fact, is an AAD transfer,
though it still sounds very well indeed. The only possible complaint
is that 48 minutes is short value for a full-price recording
these days; Hyperion, for example, have mostly transferred their
shorter early recordings to the budget-price Helios label –
and, indeed, Gimell themselves have reissued some of their own
earlier recordings at a lower price or as 2-for-1 bargains.
(See also my October
2009 Download Roundup)
Plainchant
Benedicta es [2:25]
JOSQUIN Benedicta es
[6:57]
PALESTRINA Missa Benedicta
es [41:22]; Missa Nasce la gioja mea [24:43] – rec.
Merton Chapel, Oxford, 1981. AAD
GIMSE402 [75:28] – from Gimell
at budget price on CD, mp3 and lossless.
Like the first recording of the Allegri and
Palestrina listed above, this is one of Gimell’s special-price
25th-anniversary recordings, with the added bonus
of the 1984 recording of the Mass Nasce la gioja mea.
It was, in fact, the first recording that they made for their
own label and it still sounds very well indeed. It also comes
at a special price. In the interview with John Quinn, Steve
Smith expresses the opinion that they got it right pretty well
from the start with this album, not least with the inclusion
of some Josquin, a statement about which it’s impossible to
demur.
The contents of the Palestrina CD CDGIM008
are included on other, inexpensive programmes: Missa brevis
on CDGIM204 (above) and Missa nosce la gioja on GIMSE402
(above). The contents of another Palestrina CD, CDGIM020
are included in their entirety on CDGIM204 (above).
Carlo
GESUALDO (c.1561–1613) Tenebræ
Responsories for Holy Saturday: Sicut ovis ad occisionem
[3:44]; Jerusalem, surge [3:31]; Plange quasi virgo
[5:28]; Recessit pastor noster [3:39]; O vos omnes
[3:36]; Ecce quomodo moritur justus [5:46]; Astiterunt
reges terræ [2:25]; Æstimatus sum [3:49];
Sepulto Domino [5:30]
Four Marian Motets: Ave, dulcissima Maria [4:14]; Precibus
et meritis [3:00]; Ave, Regina cœlorum [3:27]; Maria,
mater gratiæ [3:42]
rec. 1987, Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Salle, Norfolk,
England. DDD.
CDGIM015 [52:04] – from Gimell
on CD and mp3 and lossless.
Some of the creative figures of the renaissance
were larger than life. Two remain famous today almost as much
for the fact that they were murderers as for the quality of
their creative output – the painter Caravaggio and the composer
Gesualdo. It is often supposed that Gesualdo’s madrigals and
church music are especially intense because of the sins which
he had to expiate, but it remains a matter of speculation if
either his music or Caravaggio’s paintings would have been any
different had they led more conventional lives. These performances
by the Tallis Singers stress the beauty of the music as well
as – perhaps slightly at the expense of – its originality.
Three of the Marian motets here are also available
on a Naxos recording of Gesualdo’s five-part sacred music from
a rival Oxford-based group, the Oxford Camerata directed by
Jeremy Summerly (8.550742) and available in 320k mp3 from classicsonline
and passionatio.
Nordic Voices offer two of Gesualdo’s Holy Week responsories
on a Chandos recording, coupled with music by Palestrina and
Victoria, which I recommended in my November 2009 Download Roundup.
There is also a King’s Singers recording of the Maundy Thursday
Tenebræ Responsories, together with the associated
readings from Lamentations, on Signum (SIGCD048) available
as an mp3 download (320k) from passionato.
All of these are best regarded as complementary to the Gimell,
rather than as rivals.
The
Tallis Scholars sing William Byrd
William BYRD (1539/40-1623)
Mass for five voices [22:27]; Mass for four voices [22:06];
Mass for three voices [17:51]; Ave verum corpus [4:10];
Infelix ego [12:20]; Vigilate [4:52]; Tristitia
et anxietas [10:06]; Ne irascaris, Domine [8:06];
Prevent us, O Lord [2:48]; The Great Service – Venite, Te
Deum, Benedictus, Creed, Magnificat, Nunc dimittis [44:14];
O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth [2:52]; O God, the proud
are risen [3:01]; Sing joyfully unto God [2:59]
rec. Merton College Chapel, Oxford, the Church of St John at
Hackney and in Tewkesbury Abbey, 1984, 1987 and 2006. DDD.
CDGIM208 [2 CDs: 158:00] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless.
NB: This set includes the contents of CDGIM345
(BYRD The Three Masses)
and CDGIM011 (BYRD
The Great Service)
This 2-for-1 set is a wonderful bargain: whatever
other recordings of Byrd you may have, this is essential, combining
his music for the Roman and Anglican liturgies. Though he was
a Catholic recusant, his settings of the English Prayer Book
are just as accomplished in their different way, as the Tallis
Scholars’ performances prove. I’m not sure that they don’t do
even greater service to Byrd than to the composer whose name
they bear.
Though the recordings were made over a considerable
period of time, as with most of these 2-CD Gimell compilations,
the older versions in no way show their age.
Don’t go for the separate issues of the three
Masses and the Great Service, which remain available at full
price. To complicate the issue, however, there is a later Tallis
Scholars’ recording of Byrd from which three of the items on
the 2-CD set are taken:
Playing
Elizabeth’s Tune
Vigilate [4:52]; Tristitia et anxietas [10:07];
Ne irascaris, Domine [8:06]; Prevent us, O Lord [2:46];
O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth [3:04]; Magnificat,
from the Great Service [9:57]; Mass for four voices [23:06];
Ave verum corpus [3:56]
Rec. Tewkesbury Abbey, 2006. DDD.
CDGIM992 [65:54] – from Gimell
on CD, SACD (GIMSA592), DVD (PAL, GIMDP901, NTSC
GIMDN902), mp3, lossless, 24-bit Studio Master and Studio
Master 5.1
- See review
by Dominy Clements and review
of DVD by Robert Hugill
This programme was recorded in association
with a BBC TV programme, hence the DVD, which would be the main
reason for buying it rather than one of the audio versions,
especially as it contains material not on the CD. Robert Hugill
had reservations about the value of the DVD, but I must confess
to having been won over by both it and the CD.
The 4-part Mass is taken a fraction more slowly
than on the earlier recording, but there is very little to choose:
given the bargain price of the twofer, stay with that now classic
account if all you want is an audio version. If you are uncertain,
listen via Naxos Music Library – click here.
To investigate Byrd’s music further, a good
place to start would be with the last four volumes of the series
which The Cardinall’s Musick/Andrew Carwood began on ASV and
completed on Hyperion: Laudibus in Sanctis (CDA67568,
Recording of the Month – see review
and February 2009 Download Roundup);
Hodie Simon Petrus (CDA67653 – see review
and review);
Assumpta Est Maria (Hyperion CDA67675 – see September
2009 and October
2009 Download Roundups and Hyperion
Top 30) and Infelix Ego (CDA67779
– see February
2010 Roundup).
If you prefer to hear Byrd’s three Masses performed
by a cathedral choir and with the propers for various parts
of the church year, you could do much worse than the recordings
which Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford have made for Nimbus:
NI5302, 5287 and 5387 – see review.)
The sections of Byrd’s four-part mass are interspersed with
other contemporary music on Signum SIGCD061: good performances
by the King’s Singers, if a little too smooth, well recorded,
though with the slightly corny title 1605: Treason and Dischord.
Subscribers can try this on Naxos Music Library – click here.
Byrd’s Second Service is unjustly
neglected: try the Harmonia Mundi recording, coupling it with
Consort Anthems (HMU90 7440, Magdalen College Choir, Oxford/Bill
Ives – see review
and February 2009 Download Roundup).
I was a little less impressed with this recording than my colleague
who made it Recording of the Month, but it is well worth hearing.
Thomas
TOMKINS (1572–1656) Third or Great Service [30:14]
Anthems: When David heard [4:27]; Then David mourned [3:00];
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom [5:36]; Woe is me [4:13];
Be strong and of a good courage [2:34]; O sing unto the Lord
a new song [3:44]; O God, the proud are risen against me [4:07]
rec. Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Salle, Norfolk, England,
1991. DDD.
CDGIM024 [58:12] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless.
Alternative/complementary recordings:
Thomas TOMKINS
Cathedral Music: O sing unto the Lord a new song [3:52];
Then David mourned [2:57]; My beloved spake, and said unto me
[4:53]; Above the stars my Saviour dwells [4:02]; Third ‘Great’
Service: Magnificat [7:11]; Nunc dimittis [3:48]; Glory be to
God on high [5:09]; Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom
[6:21]; When David heard [5:00]; My shepherd is the living Lord
[3:51]; Sing unto God [6:49]; Behold, the hour cometh [3:51];
O God, the proud are risen against me [3:50]
St George’s Chapel Choir, Windsor/Christopher Robinson
HYPERION HELIOS CDH55066 [61:34] – from Hyperion
(CD, mp3 and lossless)
Thomas WEELKES (c.1575-1623)
Alleluia, I heard a voice [3:02]; When David heard [4:43];
Most mighty and all-knowing Lord [4:37]; Hosanna to the Son
of David. [2:03]; In nomine in 4 parts [1:56]
Orlando GIBBONS (1583-1625)
Hosanna to the Son of David [3:09]; O Lord in thy wrath [3:33];
This is the record of John [4:08]; O clap your hands [5:42];
4-part in Nomine [2:51]
Thomas TOMKINS O praise
the Lord [4:08]; When David heard. [5:01]; 6-part fantasy Fretwork
[4:32]; Rejoice, rejoice, and sing [6:50]; O sing unto the Lord
[3:38]
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge; Fretwork/Stephen Cleobury
– rec. 2007. DDD.
EMI 3944302 [59:51] – from passionato
(mp3 and lossless)
- See review
by Miguel Muelle
Of the three important English composers of
the age which followed that of Tallis and Byrd, Gibbons, Weelkes
and Tomkins, the youngest, Tomkins is probably the least well
known, though he has some claim to be considered at least the
equal of the other two. The EMI recording from King’s places
him in context with his more famous contemporaries, with five
works by each: the quality of the performances is good enough
to serve as an appetite-whetter for one or preferably both of
the Gimell and Hyperion releases. Both of these are at least
as good as the EMI in their different ways – as with the Tallis
Scholars’ and the Westminster Cathedral recordings of Palestrina,
they are really complementary rather than rivals. Sample the
three versions of When David heard, usually regarded
as Tomkins’ masterpiece: the smaller size and professional quality
of the Scholars allows them to take this piece significantly
faster than either of the choirs without losing its affective
power.
Perhaps the best recommendation would be to
start with the King’s, to place Tomkins in context; this recording
also contains some attractive instrumental works. Then, since
you will already have a recording of some of his music from
a choir, you might move on to the Scholars’ version. Don’t forget
the inexpensive Hyperion, though, or the CRD recording from
New College, Oxford (CRD3467), which I recommended briefly in
my February 2009 Download Roundup.
Then there is a recording of his keyboard music on Metronome
(Carole Cerasi, METCD1049 – see review).
There remains one more recording which I must
recommend, on the Obsidian label: entitled These Distracted
Times (i.e. the Commonwealth period, when church music was
banned), it intersperses settings from the Fifth Service with
other music – available to hear in good mp3 on the Naxos
Music Library and as a download from classicsonline.
(OBSID-CD702, Alamire; Fretwork; Choir of Sidney Sussex College,
Cambridge/David Skinner). It includes a version of When David
heard slightly faster even than the Scholars’. (3:58, but
I didn’t find this at all rushed. As with the Scholars’ version,
the quality of the singing and direction counts much more than
the stop-watch.) In fact, despite what I said at the beginning,
all in all, Tomkins is starting to be well served by a small
but high-quality series of recordings.
Thomas
WEELKES (1576-1623) Hark, all ye lovely saints [3:46]
Thomas MORLEY (1558-1602) Hark!
Alleluia [1:52]; Phyllis, I fain would die now [5:31]
Thomas VAUTOUR (fl.1600-1620)
Cruel Madame [4:24]
Orlando GIBBONS (1583-1625)
Ah dear heart [2:09]
John WILBYE (1574-1638) Draw
on sweet night [5:49]
John BENNET (1570-1615) All
creatures now [2:25]
Robert RAMSEY (fl.1612-1644)
Sleep, fleshly birth [6:18]
Giles FARNABY (c.1563-1640)
Carters, now cast down [1:54]
Thomas TOMKINS Woe is me
[4:07]
William BYRD Though Amaryllis
dance [4:53]
Orlando GIBBONS The Silver
Swan [1:50]
Thomas TOMKINS When David
heard [4:26]; Then David mourned [2:59]; Almighty God, the fountain
of all wisdom [5:34]; Woe is me [4:13]; Be strong and of a good
courage [2:34]; O sing unto the Lord a new song [3:43]; O God,
the proud are risen against me [4:14]
rec. 1982 and 1988. DDD.
GIMSE403 [72:50] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3 and lossless
The Tallis Scholars’ only recording of secular
music, one of their 25th anniversary releases, was
a close contender for my Bargain of Month award. The original,
rather short, programme, first released on CFP, is augmented
with seven tracks of Thomas Tomkins, including his well-known
When David heard, to stretch the recording to a very
respectable 73 minutes. (But NB, these are all taken
from CDGIM024 (above).) I understand that Orlando Gibbons’ The
Silver Swan from this recording is one of Gimell’s most
downloaded single tracks on iTunes, which is hardly surprising
considering the quality of the music and the performance. Don’t
go for the iTunes download, though, go direct to Gimell.
Live
in Oxford
Jacob OBRECHT Salve Regina
[12:19]
JOSQUIN des Prés
Gaude Virgo [3:19]; Absalon fili mi [3:45]
John TAVERNER Gaude plurimum
[13:21]
William BYRD Tribue,
Domine [11:41]
Thomas TALLIS O sacrum
convivium [3:19]
William MUNDY Adolescentulus
sum ego [4:59]; Vox Patris caelestis [17:55]
rec. 1998. DDD
CDGIM998 [70:51] – from Gimell
on CD, mp3, lossless and 24-bit
I’ve left this till last, partly because it’s
different from the ordinary run of Gimell recordings – like
Live in Rome it was recorded at a concert, this time
to celebrate the Scholars’ Silver Anniversary – and partly because
it takes us right back to that first Tallis Scholars recording
with its revelatory performance of Mundy’s Vox Patris caelestis.
Perhaps even more importantly, Peter Phillips seemed to dismiss
the idea of further live recordings in the interview with John
Quinn: ‘Well, we haven’t planned it and I personally don’t think
that ‘live’ live – like BBC radio live – produces very satisfactory
records. The public don’t always notice this, because they’re
not attuned to it, but a concert is not a recording.’
Postscript
Subscribers to the invaluable Naxos Music Library
will find two other recordings there which are not currently
available from Gimell. Perhaps they would consider making them
available as downloads in the same way that Chandos have made
all their deletions available and Hyperion their archive-only
recordings.
Russian Orthodox Music including Igor
STRAVINSKY Otche nash (Lord’s Prayer) [2:06],
Sergei RACHMANINOV Lord’s
Prayer [3:46] John TAVENER Great
Canon of St Andrew of Crete (1981) [21:40] - AAD
CDGIM002 [56:00] – available for streaming from Naxos
Music Library here
John
TAVENER Ikon of Light (1984) [42:04]; Funeral Ikos
[9:39]; The Lamb [3:42] - rec. 1983. DDD
CDGIM005 [51:43] – available for streaming from Naxos
Music Library here
Despite the fact that Peter Phillips held little
hope in the interview with John Quinn for expanding the Scholars’
repertoire into more modern material, except, perhaps, as part
of his work with the Merton College Choir, I do think that there
would be a market for these two deletions as downloads.
