Josquin Tallis Scholars

Tallis Scholars are among the world's preeminent choral ensembles. Cultivating a distinctive vocal sound backed by impeccable scholarship, the group has helped raise the general level of interest in Renaissance choral music in Britain and beyond through a large catalog of recordings and numerous international tours.

This release is the last in a series of nine Josquin mass recordings by The Tallis Scholars and their director, Peter Phillips. The series began in 1986, and Phillips has been the group's director since it was founded in 1973. The Tallis Scholars are, thus, a well-oiled machine, and they're capable of a flawless vocal blend that's hard to match even among England's superb collection of small choirs (the Scholars are ten strong). There are other ways to sing Josquin, but their hyper-clarity works well in his music, for it brings out the music's striking, Bachian complexity. This particular album, despite its ultimate position, is especially good, for in the Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie and Missa Faysant Regretz, it's best to have no distractions from the strikingly bold underlying structure.

The graphics for this Tallis Scholars release mention scholarly disagreement over the Missa Mater Patris, long attributed to Josquin but "recently shown to be by the little-known Noel Bauldeweyn," writes director Peter Phillips. "Or is it?" he adds. He sketches out the controversy, pointing out that the mass does not resemble any of Josquin's other compositions in the genre; he doesn't answer his question. However, you might take the album as a rejoinder to those questioning the authenticity of the mass. Its possible removal from the Josquin canon rests entirely on this musical evidence, so Phillips is entitled to adduce musical evidence of his own: the genuine Bauldeweyn mass included here sounds nothing like Josquin but is basically a work in 15th century style with a bit of imitative counterpoint thrown in.

The Tallis Scholars are hands down the most difficult performing ensemble in the world to review. The reason is simple - they have been around for so many years and have produced such a consistent and high quality product, both on record and in the concert hall, that there is simply little to say about them anymore except "bring it on!"

Renaissance composers frequently based sacred works on the melodies of secular songs, which were typically placed in the tenor part as a cantus firmus. The mixing of such elements, as in Josquin's Missa Di dadi and the Missa Une mousse de Biscaye, which were based respectively on the chansons N'aray je jamais mieulx and Une mousse de Biscaye, was common practice in the 15th century. However, Josquin also used images of dice in the tenor part of the Missa Di dadi, which have been interpreted as symbols representing time ratios, indicating the length of notes relative to the other three voices.

This release by The Tallis Scholars, the seventh of nine in a project to record the complete masses of Josquin des Prez, explores two unique and contrasting works. Missa Gaudeamus represents Renaissance artistry at its most intense. Based on the first six notes of a chant melody, it deploys mathematics in a number of clever ways. Missa L'ami Baudichon represents Renaissance artistry at its most playful. It is based on just three notes from a secular folksong that sounds distractingly like the opening of Three Blind Mice. Known as the most adventurous composer of his time, Josquin's restless, searching intellect is on display in all his works.

With their faultless intonation, transparency of line, and ideal balance between emotional intensity and cool intellectuality, the Tallis Scholars are unrivalled in this repertoire. Peter Phillips highlights the individuality of the different voice-parts - making their individuality comprehensible - yet forms a homogeneous overall sound. By comparing the early Missa Ad fugam and the later Missa Sine Nomine Josquin's stylistic development becomes clear: the thick sound-world of the early work, with its melismatic long-drawn-out lines, yields to a much tauter style, full of rhythmic contrasts without forfeiting any complexity.