Worth getting just to hear the Isaac motet
Sator | Sydney, Australia | 08/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I must confess that this is one of my favorite recordings in the Clerks' Group's Ockeghem series - in fact, not so much for the Ockeghem Missa Mi-Mi but for the stunningly beautiful motet Angeli Archangeli which totally manages to steal the show. I must confess to having something of a bias to Isaac but you really have to sit up and take notice when a couple of reviewers have independently said much the same thing.
Brian Robins in Goldberg early music magazine wrote:
"The hidden treasure here is provided not by Ockeghem but by Heinrich Isaac, whose dazzling six-part motet for the feast of All Saints, Angeli, archangeli, is one of those Renaissance jewels that cannot help but send the spirits soaring, particularly when given such a vibrantly pulsating performance as that of The Clerks' Group."
Fabrice Fitch in Gramophone magazine also wrote:
"Listen to the hint of bells (at around 5'00'') in Isaac's Angeli, Archangeli: this is an astonishing piece that you won't find recorded elsewhere. Why mince words? This is superb."
The motet by the younger contemporary of Ockeghem was predictably highly popular in its day according to Rob Wegman who contributes the usual excellent liner notes. Incidentally Isaac is also mentioned as one of the great composers who gathered to honor him on his death.
As for the Missa Mi-Mi, it has never been my absolute favorite Ockeghem but it gets a solid performance here that makes a worthy 'filler' for the Isaac show stopper!
The Angeli Archangeli however definitely belongs on my desert island list."
No Sacred Muzak Here
eric trowbridge | New York | 02/09/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A very well done "Missa Mi-Mi" is complemented by beautiful shorter works. ("Alma Redemptoris Mater" is my personal favorite.) The music may be ethereal, but the Clerks' Group's compelling and intelligent performance keeps it from sounding like musical codeine."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1