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Appréciation d'ensemble / Overall evaluation :
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Reviewer: Kate
Bolton-Porciatti
Written for the papal choir, the lush Missa Confitebor tibi Domine – based on Palestrina’s eight-voice motet of the same name – is nowadays a seldom heard work, making this recording all the more welcome. The composer’s native Roman tradition is splashed here with Venetian colours: first, in the use of ‘cori spezzati’, a technique developed at St Mark’s, Venice, which separates the choir into sub-groups to create dramatic antiphonal and acoustical effects; and, secondly, in interlacing the Mass movements with embellished versions of Palestrina’s motets arranged for cornett and organ – a practice and soundworld peculiarly popular in the Serenissima (indeed, two of these adaptations are by the Venetian composer Giovanni Bassano). The result is a richly varied musical tapestry, avoiding the sometimes monotonous effect of an entire disc of a cappella polyphony.
Under the
masterly direction of David Hill, this crack student choir produces a clean yet
luxuriant sound, ref lecting the sumptuous vocal resources that might have been
used on a major feast day in one of the Roman churches. The sacred acoustic,
slightly distant placement of the microphones, and seraphic high voices all
combine to create an ethereal effect – indeed, the priority here is on pure
timbral beauty rather than on text-driven articulation. As a result, the words
don’t always cut through and verbal nuances are rather lost – though these are
minor caveats to what are otherwise pristine accounts. The instrumental playing
is both stylish and, at times, virtuosic – notably Bruce Dickey’s f loridly
improvised ornamentation and dazzling agility.
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