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Reviewer: Edward Breen The draw of Italy for mid-16th-century northern European composers – oltremontani; ‘those from the other side of the alps’ – and their eventual succession by Italian composers is a well-explored programme, yet here Harry Christophers includes several lesser-known works to mark the 20th anniversary of The Sixteen’s Choral Pilgrimage. Opening with Victoria’s Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Saturday, the singing is characteristically clear and impassioned, with the solo quintet particularly vivid and gripping in ‘O vos omnes’ (‘Look, all you people, and see my sorrow’). Interlacing this programme are motets by Josquin which create a few sudden chronological shifts, much softened by assured performances. Pater noster/Ave Maria is surely one of Josquin’s best and this rich six-voice setting flows beautifully on this album. Impressive too is Illibata Dei virgo, in which an acrostic embeds Josquin’s own name in the letters that begin each line. The balance of controlled, flowing duets with nimble passagework is delightful. Felice Anerio’s Litaniae Beatissimae Virginis Mariae is an unexpected highlight. Its double-choir style, full of energy and varied textures, edges towards the Baroque and forms a lovely pair with the Gloria from Allegri’s Missa In lectulo meo. While my preference for double-choir performances is in a larger acoustic than this album affords, I enjoy the clarity of the textures here. As Harry Christophers himself puts it: ‘the Italians … very much wrote under the influence of the “Prince of music” Palestrina’. The inclusion of Allegri’s Miserere – its evolution is perhaps inevitable. Recorded in 2012 following research by Ben ByramWigfield, this performance traces, verse by verse, a metamorphosis from simple and effective chordal textures to the embellished flourishes once guarded so closely by the papal authorities. Despite several changes of personnel, the vocal ensemble is impressively well matched to the rest of the programme. A grand tour staple fitting for any choral pilgrimage and a delightful programme from an ensemble on top of their game.
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