Search - Josquin Desprez, The Tallis Scholars :: Missa Pange Lingua/Missa La Sol Fa Re Mi

This disc is very much a mixed bag. The Tallis Scholars give Josquin's great Pange lingua Mass a rather pedestrian reading: all of the variations on the plainchant hymn tune are audible, but the balances are off (Phillips has transposed the music up to suit his sopranos and altos) and the singers sound yet again like they'd rather be doing Palestrina. Something happened during the recording sessions, though, because their Missa la sol fa re mi is stunning. The titular theme (A-G-F-D-E) of this inspired Mass is present throughout, run forwards, backwards and upside-down by Josquin with real ingenuity and beauty. The Tallis Scholars capture all the music's inspiration and spirituality in a performance that, quite frankly, seems touched by the Divine. --Matthew Westphal