Performer: Cut Circle, Jesse Rodin
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Musique en Wallonie
Catalogue: MEW2097
Release: 2021
Size: 1.23 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Missa Gross senen
01. I. Kyrie
02. II. Gloria
03. III. Credo
04. IV. Sanctus
05. V. Agnus Dei
anon.: Missa L’ardant desir
06. I. Kyrie
07. II. Gloria
08. III. Credo
09. IV. Sanctus
10. V. Agnus Dei
What makes a piece of music difficult? This album introduces a pair of riveting, technically ambitious, historically important, and never-before-recorded polyphonic masses of the fifteenth century, performed by an ensemble that has developed a new approach designed to honor the music’s variety and unflagging intensity. Both works stand out for their notational complexity. They are also exceptional for the skill they demand of the performers: we find hair-raising rhythms, intricate counterpoint, and long melodic phrases. Rather than mitigate these challenges with a large ensemble and a generous acoustic, this recording enhances them: the performances are one-on-a-part, featuring energetic tempi, close miking, and minimal reverberation. This approach is unforgiving—but together with bright vowels and a flexible vocal technique, it has the benefit of allowing the music to come across with uncommon directness and clarity.