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THOMAS CRECQUILLON Missa Mort m’a privé

Oeil esgaré; Missa Mort m’a privé; Mort m’a privé a 5; Caesaris auspiciis; Mort m’a privé a 4; Cur Fernande pater; Le monde est tel; Praemia pro validis; Congratulamini mihi

THE BRABANT ENSEMBLE / STEPHEN RICE

Hyperion CDA67596

A very beautiful CD by a composer unknown to me, who lived 1505-1557 and served Charles V of Portugal. The Brabant Ensemble specialises on sacred music in the narrow period 1520-60, and the full background information by Martin Ham tells how Isabella Empress of Portugal, morned inconsolably by Charles V, was immortalised by this Imperial composer of whom little information exists.

There is a vigorous, robust quality to the singing and recording at Merton College, Oxford, which I found captivating. The programme is concentrated on mourning and prayer for the dead, so the final joyful motet to the Resurrection is welcome.

Definitely to be recommended to afficionados of this period.

© Peter Grahame Woolf