Search - Christ Church Cathedral Choir :: Taverner: Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas

Vital, Full-Throated Performances

Lawrence A. Schenbeck | Atlanta, GA USA | 01/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is just about the most musically engaging performance of any English Renaissance a cappella polyphony I've ever heard. The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, sings the music with unusual vocal freedom and emotional engagement. Not that they violate any stylistic boundaries -- you can still tell this comes from the sixteenth century! But the sense of spontaneity, the way the voices "hook up," brings something special to the repertoire.



This is certainly not the only way to sing Taverner. In fact, there may be a cross-relation or two that get lost in the exuberance here. But it is *such* a relief from the precious, constrained mannerisms of so many Renaissance specialist groups -- or for that matter of many English cathedral choirs.



Besides the rich six-voiced Mass, the CD includes a nice rendition of the motet "O Wilhelme pastor bone," which Taverner wrote in honor of St. William of York, containing a prayer for Thomas Wolsey, who had founded Cardinal College at Oxford in the 1520s. (Taverner was choirmaster at the college from 1526.)



A wonderfully open, spacious recording, done in the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford, complements the choir's singing and, along with informative liner notes by choirmaster Stephen Darlington and Andrew Carwood, makes this an irresistable offering for any lover of great choral music. Strongly recommended."