Search - Gregorio Allegri, Thomas [Composer] Tallis, William [Composer] Byrd :: The Best of the Renaissance

Great Representative Recordings of the High Renaissance

Patricia Reed | South Korea | 07/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are building a classical music library and want to find some good recordings of High Renaissance (16th Century) music, this is a good place to begin. The selections contain good samplings from many countries. The choir is wonderful to listen to. The amazing 40-part Spem in alium is worth the price of the CD alone. Unfortunately, the liner notes do not include translations of the songs, but even so, the CD is worth having."

Some great Renaissance choral music

scipio_g | Hanover, PA USA | 02/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I recently played the first disk of this collection in the small bookstore/café where I work, a customer told me she had been trying to read but couldn't because she was so captivated by this CD's sublime music.Although I am a sort of purist who hates when people say they listen to classical music just to relax, I find this CD set is perfect for inspiring reflection and relaxation. So, if you're looking for good music to relax to, this would be an excellent purchase.The same goes if you're looking for some great Renaissance music. However, the term "Best of the Renaissance" may be a bit of a misnomer; the CD does not include a vast array of music from the said era. This collection is solely /a cappella/ music. Perhaps a more fitting title would be "The Best of Renaissance Choral Music." If you're looking for a broad sampling of music from this time period in one CD collection, this may not be for you. Nevertheless, if you want well performed choral music by some great composers, I recommend this CD to both Renaissance neophytes and aficionados without reservation."

Or, "Best Sacred Vocal Music of the 16th Century"

Eddie Konczal | 06/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My only major complaint with the Tallis Scholars' impressive compilation "The Best of the Renaissance" is its name. The 2-CD set only includes sacred vocal polyphony from the High Renaissance (16th century). That means you get no chansons, no madrigals, no instrumental music of any sort. Perhaps even worse, composers before Josquin are ignored: there's no Dufay, no Binchois, no Ockeghem - nobody who worked primarily in the 15th century. These omissions suggest that the Tallis Scholars probably consider the pre-Josquin period as late Medieval, rather than early Renaissance.



Once you accept "The Best of the Renaissance" for what it is - "Best Sacred Vocal Music of the 16th Century" - you can better enjoy its remarkable assemblage of High Renaissance polyphony. The first disc in particular is quite astonishing. The Scholars lead off with their signature performance of Allegri's "Miserere" - actually a Baroque-era composition in Renaissance "learned style." The Scholars brilliantly convey the "call-and-response" effect of dual choirs through exquisitely crafted acoustics. Turn this one up, turn off the lights, close your eyes, and you're in the Sistine Chapel!



The Scholars follow "Miserere" with an equally impressive performance of a work by their namesake Thomas Tallis - the 40-voice motet "Spem in alium." If "Miserere" hasn't overwhelmed your senses, this one will.



Two virtuoso Mass cycles follow: William Byrd's "Mass for Five Voices" and Josquin's "Missa Pange lingua." The former conveys a sublime, otherworldly beauty, while the latter is a superior example of the style of pervasive imitation that Josquin and his contemporaries pioneered.



The selections on Disc One are so impressive that Disc Two disappoints by comparison. The second set is dominated by two composers I never quite warmed to: Carlo Gesualdo and Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina. Gesualdo was better known for his chromatic, genre-busting madrigals. His "Tenebrae Responses for Holy Thursday" are by contrast quite pleasing, but it's odd to hear sacred music written by a man who killed his wife and her lover. Palestrina's music achieves a sort of static beauty, but lacks forward motion. His "Missa Papae Marcelli" allegedly "saved" sacred polyphony, but arguably watered down the genre in its attempt to appease papal demands for simpler music.



The highlight of Disc 2 is Josquin's lovely "Ave Maria," a motet that provides yet another example of the Franco-Flemish composer's mastery of canonic forms.



"The Best of the Renaissance" expertly compiles the Tallis Scholars' best performances. Those looking for a comprehensive overview of the music of the Renaissance should be aware of its limitations, however."