Peter Phillips

Peter Serkin, whose recorded output is dwarfed by his father's in sheer size but by no means in artistic distinction, is spotlighted in a new release playing Mozart: his complete RCA recordings of the composer. When his set of Piano Concertos Nos. 14-19 was released in 1973, High Fidelity's reviewer wrote: "I have heard no other pianist who seems to follow every pulse of this Mozartean vitality quite as beautifully as Peter Serkin, and the combined efforts of Serkin fils with Alexander Schneider and the English Chamber Orchestra on this RCA set form very simply one of the most important contributions to the Mozart discography." The new box also contains Serkin's distinguished mid-1970s recordings of the Clarinet Quintet and Piano-Wind Quintet K 452 with members of his distinguished ensemble TASHI.

Jérôme Lejeune continues his History of Music series with this boxed set devoted to the Renaissance. The next volume in the series after Flemish Polyphony (RIC 102), this set explores the music of the 16th century from Josquin Desprez to Roland de Lassus. After all of the various turnings that music took during the Middle Ages, the music of the Renaissance seems to be a first step towards a common European musical style. Josquin Desprez’s example was followed by every composer in every part of Europe and in every musical genre, including the Mass setting, the motet and all of the various new types of solo song. Instrumental music was also to develop considerably from the beginning of the 16th century onwards.

Shawn Phillips is my guru, a spiritual guide if you will. After listening to this album I am always infused with energy and good will and feel I have the strength to carry on no matter what is pulling me down in life. Shawn is my candidate for the most overlooked / underrated musician of our time, he’s an extremely fine musician and vocalist with an incredible vocal range that will blow your mind.

Over the years Mr. Phillips has worked with Peter Robinson quite a bit, you might know him from Quatermass (the band). Peter Robinson shines quite a bit on Rumplestiltskin's Resolve, another Quatermass alum (John Gustafson on bass) shows up on the “Spiteful” track.

The Tallis Scholars - Sing Josquin
The Tallis Scholars / Peter Philips
2xCD | EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 622 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Gimell Records # CDGIM 206 | Country/Year: UK 2006
Genre: Classical | Style: Renaissance, Choral, Sacred

"…For anyone coming to Josquin’s music for the first time this generous compilation is an ideal way to discover his music. However, a word of warning is appropriate: the music is addictive and once you have sampled it in these exquisite performances you may well want to join The Tallis Scholars on their exploration of all Josquin’s Masses." ~musicweb-international