There is a striking but beautiful contrast between the low, almost cavernous plainchant resonating under the church vaults-the performance was recorded in a Northumbrian priory-and the high triumphant tones of the Renaissance contrapuntal pieces in which male altos play a prominent role. Short but gorgeous instrumental pieces alternate with chant and psalmody.
Psalmody? Yes, contrary to most Mass cds, this one contains not only the usual sequence of Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus but also all the Latin readings sung on a very simple melody (the text and the translation are available in the accompanyng booklet, thank God!): the Epistle, the Gospel, the Eucharist prayers, etc.
The psalmody, specially the rather long Gospel reading, may sound monotonous at first but you will quickly get used to it and it will provide a welcome interlude during which your ears can take a rest and recover from the all powerful, almost overwhelming stimuli of polyphonic chant.
The reconstruction does not omit any detail: at the sacred moment of consecration, for example, when the priest invokes in a low voice the power of the Holy Spirit to come on the bread and wine, you hear the tremedously stirring sound of cathedral bells accompanied by the organ.
The traditional Mass chants by Rore with high-pitched countertenors (male altos) are stunningly beautiful and are the highlight of this cd. They are imitations (parodies) of Desprez's style but this does not mean that they are inferior in quality. If anything, they are more brilliant since they feature seven voices, instead of just six. The Sanctus is simply not of this world! If you like Desprez and Ockeghem, you will be thrilled by Rore.
The whole atmosphere of the performance is one of dignified exultation, as befits a real liturgy... Not a single atom of gloominess as one reviewer below said but if you are looking for ligt music you will not find it here. This is San Marco and majesty is the key note.
I cannot imagine a better cd in this kind of music.
As mentioned before, there is a lack of real "atmosphere" which marks those two aforementioned earlier discs as outstanding (and which also makes their Prateorius and Sheppard recordings stand out).
Obviously this group are still at the very top of the league when it comes to this repertoire, but the fact that we know what they can do when at their very best means only 4/5 for this release.
Interesting, awesome even, but strangely uncaptivating.
