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Editorial Reviews

The repertory of Renaissance vocal music seems nearly inexhaustible. No matter how many masses and motets are recorded by fine groups such as the Tallis Scholars, there always seems to be another gem waiting to be revealed. This ensemble has been on a recording hiatus as their label, Gimell, has returned to independent status. Hearing them again, in a major work by Cristóbal de Morales, reminds us what an indispensable feature of the early music soundscape they are. Morales's Missa Si bona suscepimus is a major addition to the group's discography and finds them in excellent form. The radiant harmony and perfect intonation of the voices, not to mention the bracing clarity they bring to the counterpoint, are all striking, and as always, they are superbly recorded. Morales's richly textured mass, written while the Spanish composer was resident in Rome, is joined on this disc by two equally beautiful works from the 16th century. Philippe Verdelot's motet Si bona suscepimus was a natural choice, as it provided the musical basis for Morales's mass, according to the typical "parody" procedures of Renaissance composition. Opening the program, its starker music sets Morales's elaborate embellishments in relief. Thomas Crecquillon's motet Andreas Christi famulus is denser still, composed in eight parts (as opposed to five or six in the other works). The sumptuousness of the Tallis Scholars' performance of this work ends the disc on a splendidly sonorous note. Scott Paulin, Barnes & Noble

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