Yale Schola Cantorum / David Hill PALESTRINA Missa Confitebor tibi Domine

This is really two quite separate discs. One has the 28 voices of the Yale Schola Cantorum, performing unaccompanied in Christ Church, New Haven, CT; and the other has the cornett and organ of Bruce Dickie and Liuwe Tamminga in the Basilica of S Martino, Bologna. The insert confusingly gives David Hill as director of both; and it gives no hint that two of the pieces Bruce Dickie plays are literal renderings of Giovanni Bassano’s published arrangements of Palestrina (though the information is there in Noel O’Regan’s useful booklet note). Beyond that, it lists the keyboard ricercars as only ‘attrib’, whereas they are clearly ascribed in the source, merely doubted in some circles because they were never printed and do not survive in Palestrina’s hand.

The eight-voice Mass is of the cori spezzati variety, that is, with both choirs independently complete for singing well apart from one another, though that couldn’t have happened in the Sistine Chapel (which had only the one choir balcony); and the recording here makes no attempt to separate the choirs, which is a slight pity. The other pity is that they follow the annoying habit of singing Palestrina’s first Agnus Dei twice rather than adding a first or second Agnus in chant, which is presumably what Palestrina expected. But for the rest David Hill produces a marvellous sound from his choir, beautifully tuned, beautifully balanced and with many truly exciting moments.

Bruce Dickie is a totally authoritative player for the two Bassano pieces and two further Palestrina pieces; and Liuwe Tamminga plays with equal authority. These tracks are an unalloyed pleasure. (David Fallows / Gramophone)

Voces Suaves / Jörg-Andreas Bötticher COME TO MY GARDEN, MY SISTER, MY BELOVED

Voces Suaves, which performs Renaissance and Baroque music with solo voices, is a vocal en- semble based in Basel (Switzerland). Taking into account the insights of historical performance practice, the ensemble strives for captivating rhetoric combined with a warm and full overall sound that makes the music come alive with emotion. By virtue of the intensive collaboration, a great familiarity within the musical work has evolved. 

The ensemble, founded in 2012 by Tobias Wicky, is made up of a core of eight professional singers of whom most have a connection with the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. The ensemble’s character has been shaped together with Francesco Saverio Pedrini, who directed it until 2016. Since then it works without a permanent director, but maintains frequent collaborations with Jörg-Andreas Bötticher and Johannes Strobl. 

The repertoire contains a broad selection of Italian madrigals, works of the Early German Baroque, and larger-scaled Italian oratorios and Masses. In planning the programs, care is taken to include works by forgotten composers, such as Lodovico Agostini or Giovanni Croce, alongside those of well-known masters like Monteverdi or Schütz. 

Voces Suaves regularly joins together with other ensembles in order to perform larger-scale works. Since 2015 various recordings have been released and have been honored with interna- tional prizes (including the Diapason découverte).

Huelgas Ensemble / Paul van Nevel THE EAR OF THE HUGUENOTS

The Huelgas Ensemble under Paul Van Nevel are numbered among the world’s best vocal ensembles for over 40 years. Their recordings of, in many cases, completely unknown works has earned the ensemble the highest international acclaim. The press wrote of their last recording: “The Huelgas Ensemble once again demonstrates its artistic skill and expressive power” (SWR 2). For their new album, Paul Van Nevel has selected outstanding works by Huguenot composers of the 16th century, a period when Protestants were ruthlessly persecuted in pre-revolutionary France. The tragic height of this persecution was the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre on the night of 23–24 August 1572, when the lives of thousands of Huguenots were taken. Despite the religious repression and persecution, a Protestant culture filled with musical riches was able to develop in France. This included psalm settings by various composers that are well worth being discovered and cover an impressive range of styles from homophonic to polyphonic motets encompassing many voice parts. For this album the Huelgas Ensemble has recorded the most interesting works of composers such as Claude Goudimel (1510–1572), Jaques Maudit (1557–1627), Giovanni da Palestrina (1525–1594), Pascal de l’Estocart (1539–1584) as well as Jean Servin (1530–1596) and Claude Le Jeune (1528–1600). The recording is an impressive demonstration of the outstanding tonal artistry of these composers and provides a glimpse of a compelling epoch in music history.