Josquin des Pres: Masses: Missa Malheur Me Bat, Missa Fortuna Desperata - Peter Phillips, The Tallis Scholars

Josquin des Pres : Masses : Missa Malheur Me Bat - Missa Fortuna Desperata

Peter Phillips, The Tallis Scholars
Recorded in the Chapel of Metron College
Reviews :

 (Click on images to enlarge):

International Record Review : April 2009: 

BBC Music Magazine : March 2009:

 

Gramophone Music Magazine : April 2009:

Disc of the Week
bbc.co.uk : Charlotte Gardner / 2009-03-12
"Showcases the extraordinary complexity of Josquin's writing"

The Tallis Scholars have made it their mission to record all sixteen (or so) of Josquin des Près's masses. Their performance on this fourth disc in the cycle showcases the extraordinary complexity of Josquin's writing, whilst imbuing it with human warmth.

Josquin des Pres was a French-Flemish composer who lived roughly between 1440 and 1521. Despite only writing choral music, his influence on the development of musical form was enormous. He was one of the first composers to use secular tunes as the basis for his religious works but, more importantly, he pioneered imitative devices between vocal parts which were then, and indeed now, frankly mind-boggling in their quasi-mathematical complexity. If JS Bach had played the 'which historical figure would you like to have dinner with?' game, he may well have opted for a geeky part-writing conversation with Josquin. The two masses on this disc are based on three-part chansons, or popular songs, of the day. Before Josquin, composers would have taken just one of the original voice parts from which to derive their own work's musical motifs. Josquin, however, plundered all three parts, instantly tripling the musical material and complexity. You'd need a score and time to spare if you wanted to properly unpick these masterpieces of construction, but the intrinsic loveliness of the music, aided by the Tallis Scholars' performance here, render such scholarship unnecessary either for musical enjoyment or intellectual appreciation. The choir’s lucid vocal textures highlight the mastery of Josquin's interweaving vocal lines. Their tone is clear and sonorous, the phrases are beautifully shaped, and the mood solemn but warm. I do have a problem, however, with the programme notes; despite being genuinely interesting and engaging, they round off a comparison between Josquin and Beethoven with a smug, ''the average music-lover will take the point''. Now if that irritates me, then where does it leave the ninety-something percent of the population without specialist musical knowledge? Alienated, I suspect.

So, a marvellous recording, but wait until you've heard and enjoyed it before attacking (quite literally, perhaps) the programme notes.

Classics Today : David Vernier - 4/17/2009

Since The Tallis Scholars are no strangers to Josquin, and since in the last couple of years the ensemble has repackaged some of its earlier releases, I had to check to make sure this was in fact a brand new release--and it is, the fourth CD in the group's projected complete Josquin Mass cycle. The Tallis Scholars' previous Josquin recordings have justly garnered wide acclaim--and even a couple of prestigious awards--and here's another one worthy to join that company.

Both of these works, based on secular polyphonic chansons and accurately described by conductor Peter Phillips as "two of the finest to come from any pen," sport formidable Agnus Dei movements that could stand alone as ideal representations of Josquin's most ingeniously complex compositional style. They are also irresistibly affecting, leaving the listener with unmitigated confirmation of their creator's complete mastery of his craft (Phillips provides some enlightening analysis in his informative liner notes) as well as his uncommon sensitivity to the Mass' spiritual import. The Agnus Dei of the Missa Fortuna desperata, with its rich-textured scoring for lower voices (no superius part), makes a soul-stirring impression that demands repeated hearing.

As we expect by now, the Tallis Scholars offer first-class ensemble-work (informed by uncompromising scholarship) in characteristically ingratiating performances that always leave us satisfied that we've just heard the most exacting and sincerely "authentic" rendition possible by modern singers--and given that neither of these Masses has been oft-recorded, here we have the additional assurance of near-exclusivity. When you hear this music you are transported: there is no modern equivalent to the soaring melodic lines, the complex polyphonic textures, or to the music's deeply entwined, signature religious character. This is music that moves listeners on the same deeply spiritual level as Bach's greatest works, and it certainly deserves to be heard more widely (if only there were readily available performing editions!). The sound, from one of this group's favored venues--the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford--is just perfect. Don't hesitate.

More info about The Tallis Scholars : Here
More info about this album and to listen to the samples : Here


Posted by Ice