Search - Lassus, Hassler, Erbach :: Festal Sacred Music of Bavaria

James O'Donnell and Hyperion have used Lassus's famous double-choir Missa Bell' Amfitrit' altera and the music of two late-16th-century Germans, Christian Erbach and Hans Leo Hassler, to assemble a festal Mass (omitting the Scripture readings and prayers) from Munich circa 1600. The Propers are performed in five-voice polyphonic settings by Erbach; two grand Gabrieli-style motets by Hassler form the prelude and postlude; several lively instrumental and organ pieces by both composers are included as well. The boys of the Westminster Cathedral Choir don't sound quite as elegant as adult groups like the Sixteen, but they're more than adequate. The instrumentalists play quite well (including in the Missa, where they double the voices), and O'Donnell directs the whole enterprise with spirit and finesse. --Matthew Westphal