Search - Guillaume Dufay, Cappella Cordina :: Dufay: Missa "Se La Face ay Pale", Missa Sancti Jacobi, Rite Maiorem, Ecclesiae Militantis

A Long Wait For Disappointment

M. Stoltenberg | Phoenix, AZ USA | 09/03/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I had been trying to find a used copy of this out of print CD for over 8 months. I was excited when one became available after relentlessly checking with Amazon. I had actually ordered this 2 cd set twice from two different sellers who advertised having a copy and then both sent me emails stating that I had been refunded because they did not actually have it.



I was looking forward to hearing two masses of Dufay with instruments to add to my collection of recordings by Cantica Symphonia (Missae and Fragmenta Missarum, both really wonderful experiences; and the recording of Dufay's isorhythmic motets by the Huelgas Ensemble, a mystical and beautiful encounter).



I have been usually pleased with other Lyrichord recordings, but the singing on this 2 cd set is downright hard to listen to. It reminds me of a similarly unpleasant listen to a Seon recording of Josquin's Missa La Sol Fa Re Mi. You can read my equally disappointed review of that recording as well. What both of these recordings have in common are two aspects: (1) a lack of balance and integration of the instrumental music and the choir, so the overall effect is that of a blurry halo of sound, and (2) the choir sounds like it is singing too fast and seems to consist predominantly of wobbly elderly sopranos and altos who are singing more in a wavering vocal style more appropriate to opera and comes off in the end sounding nothing like a renaissance work at all.



If you want to enjoy outstanding recordings of Dufay's glorious masses with instrumental accompaniments, then I highly recommend seeking used copies of the recordings I listed above by Cantica Symphonia (on the Stradivarius Dulcimer label) and the isorhythmic motets (CD entitled "O Gemma Lux") performed incredibly by the Huelgas Ensemble on the Harmonia Mundi label."