It is becoming almost impossible to objectively review a Tallis Scholars recording. I have become so spoiled by the effortless tonal production of this ensemble, the high production values, and the scholarly approach to the music at hand, time and time again, that it is easy to simply take them for granted and give a rubber-stamp approval. And that is exactly what I am going to do here. If you know this group (and what collector doesn’t?) then you know what to expect; indeed, have a right to expect, and Peter Phillips and company delivery in the same consistent, highly professional manner that they always do.
This CD tackles the only two extant masses of Josquin (1440-1521) that are completely based on the canon. This particular musical form involves the stating of a melody only to have it come in a number of bars later so that the second entrance effectively harmonizes with the first statement. This can be a bear to compose, and the musicians of his day would have to prove themselves in this technique in order to demonstrate their mastery of the craft. It requires a mind not unlike that needed to successfully navigate a game of high order chess; one must be constantly thinking ahead. Josquin could do this very well of course, and these two works show his formidable talent to great effect, so that in most cases one would not be aware of the technical proficiency behind the composition.
As an added bonus we get one of the few examples of an actual reworking from this period of the Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei I, II, and III—interesting but not essential, yet Phillip’s sense of thoroughness and completeness will have it no other way. Sound, as usual, is first-rate.
— Steven Ritter
