Search - Peter Phillips :: Brumel: Missa Et ecce terrae motus/Lamentations/Magnificat secundi toni

Something of a legend in its day, Brumel's famous "Earthquake" Mass (Et ecce terrae motus means "And behold, the earth shook," referring to the moment when Christ arose from the dead) is a monumental 12-voice setting for Easter. With so many voices, Brumel couldn't create much harmonic movement or even clearly audible melody (a wonderful soprano-tenor duet on "Osanna in excelsis" is an exception) and still follow the rules of Renaissance counterpoint; he kept the Mass interesting by using the massive effects so many voices can create and by creating ornate rhythmic interplay between the different voices. Peter Phillips takes the Mass at an ideal tempo, just slow enough to let the rhythms register rather than whizzing by in a blur; the Tallis Scholars' energetic performance lives up to the work's nickname. --Matthew Westphal