2025 is the 500th anniversary of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s birth, and it seems safe to assume several new recordings will be released to celebrate this important anniversary. Two have already been released in the first weeks of January, sung by two exceptional English choirs.
Harmonia Mundi has released a steady stream of recordings by the Clare College and Graham Ross partnership over the last several years. This new album includes five premiere recordings: a Magnificat, a pair of motets, and two masses. Ross includes multiple settings of the same texts by Palestrina’s English contemporaries (Byrd, White, and Mundy), making for a particularly intelligent and engaging program.
The opening Magnificat (heard here in its premiere recording) alternates plainsong with a 5-part choral setting. Some of the choral verses are sung by smaller groups (located in different parts of the church), adding greater variety and color to the performance. The recorded sound is quite close and bright, as if the listener is in the choir stalls with the singers. When the full ensemble sings forte and above, the soprano sound occasionally overwhelms, but Palestrina’s polyphony is always transparent, even in the 12-part “Ad te levavi oculos meos” – another premiere recording (track 10).
The Harmonia Mundi album includes two Lenten masses: the 4-part Missa Emendemus in melius (“Let us make amends for our sins”), and 5-part Missa Memor esto verbi tui (“Think on your servant”). Both have a suitably penitential tone, though Ross rarely misses an opportunity to highlight the more impassioned portions of the mass text. Ross and his singers embrace a more madrigalian style, in which articulation, diction and dynamics are changed to capture the emotional and spiritual sentiment. These deeply felt readings connect the congregation (listener’s) head and heart to the liturgy being celebrated on their behalf. And as one would expect, the three English motets are superbly performed, giving us another prism through which to understand and appreciate Palestrina’s art.
Stile Antico’s new Decca release offers singing of superb technical accomplishment and stunning beauty. “Exultate Deo” has a sparkling energy, while the performance of “Laudate Dominum in tympanis” in 12-parts has a satisfying richness.
I was also quite taken with gentle fragility of the 2-part “Assumpta est Maria” motet, yet the engineered sound is somewhat problematic: recorded in All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak, the expensive ambiance sometimes blunts textual clarity and expression, and by the end of the album, this rich aural bath felt overly plush – I wanted the tang and bite of the sound Harmonia Mundi provides Clare College.
Moreover, compared to the Harmonia Mundi album, I was a little disappointed by the Decca programming. According to Apple Music Classical, around 50 of Palestrina’s 105 masses are recorded (including the two discussed above). Yet Stile Antico has chosen to join the dozens of recordings of the Missa Papea Marcelli already available. How wonderful it would have been if this elite choir had tackled a mass never recorded, or one of the many masses that has only been recorded once. And Decca’s policy of not including a digital booklet only adds to the feeling of an opportunity wasted. Yes, the Stile Antico performance is stunningly beautiful – but so are the recordings by The Tallis Scholars (Gimell), The Sixteen (Coro), and the Oxford Camerata on Naxos – a much more intimate performance with sound to match, in which every textual nuance is clearly heard.
Despite Stile Antico’s undeniable excellence, most collectors probably already own at least one recording of the Missa Papea Marcelli, whereas the Clare College album offers a longer program (79 versus 65 minutes) and five premieres, with readily available liner notes and full texts and translations. And so the Choir of Clare College album is the kind of recording that gives us a more complete appreciation of Palestrina’s brilliance.
Get periodic updates about new classical music albums reviews, news and guides.
We respect your privacy.
Recommended Comparisons
The Sixteen | Oxford Camerata | The Tallis Scholars | Westminster Cathedral
Check offers of this album on Amazon.
Album Details |
|
|---|---|
| Album name | Palestrina Revealed |
| Artist | Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Graham Ross |
| Label | Harmonia Mundi |
| Catalog No. | HMM905375 |
| Stream on Amazon | Amazon Music |
| Stream on Apple Music | Apple Music |
Check offers of this album on Amazon.
Album Details |
|
|---|---|
| Album name | The Golden Renaissance – Palestrina |
| Artist | Stile Antico |
| Label | Decca |
| Catalog No. | 4870791 |
| Stream on Amazon | Amazon Music |
| Stream on Apple Music | Apple Music |
