Jacobus Regnart Missa Super Oeniades Nymphae Cinquecento

Two substantial Mass settings, sounding here as though Regnart might have written them specifically for the glorious voices of Cinquecento: this is a welcome contribution to the restoration of an important but still under-appreciated figure.

Though born a Slovene, Jacobus Gallus centered his entire work around Vienna, Prague and the diocesan city of Olomouc (Olmutz). The surpris-ing mobility of Gallus's truly Renaissance career shows him as a model of the sixteenth-century composer. Gallus was active at both abbey and court, though at times for only a brief period before moving on: Melk, Brno (Brunn), Wroclaw (Breslau), Legnica (Lieg-nitz), Gorlitz, Zwettl, and elsewhere. Mis cosmopolitan spirit is reflected, moreover, in the numerous variations of his name: Handl, Petelin, Haehn, Handelius, Coq, Kohoutek.

Gramophone award nominees Cinquecento add another glorious recording to their Hyperion discography. This vocal sextet, comprising six professional singers from five European countries, are rapidly becoming one of the most admired early music ensembles of the time. The lithe, clear yet rich and warm tones of the six singers are the perfect instruments for the complex polyphony of the sixteenth century. Their profound collective and individual musicianship, mellifluous phrasing, perfect intonation and commitment to their chosen repertoire are clearly apparent in this gem of a disc.

Hans Leo Hassler was roughly contemporary with Palestrina and wrote in a similarly transparent style. Though he was Lutheran, he set numerous Latin texts, including the Mass. " Missa super Dixit Maria is a "parody" based on Hassler's famous motet Dixit Maria ad angelum. That motet isn't included here, unfortunately, but you can clearly hear its themes recurring in the various Mass movements. The motets on this disc include several penitential items with a striking chromaticism Palestrina wouldn't have touched. Vater unser, a setting of Luther's versification of the Lord's Prayer, seems dull in this company.

However cultivated the European centres of Habsburg imperial power may have been, few could regularly have boasted musicians of the calibre of Cinquecento. Their ongoing exploration of Franco-Flemish repertoire from the sixteenth century uncovers major works by Johannes de Cleve and Jacobus Vaet.