As one of his most perfect works, Josquin’s Mass Ave maris stella is now available in a wide range of great performances – a substantial change from the situation 20 years ago, when the versions by Andrew Parrott (EMI, 5/93) and Bernard Fabre-Garrus (Astrée/Naïve, 2/94) were the first on CD.

Among the distinctive details here are that it is performed at probably the lowest possible pitch. This worried me at first, and it is true that some of the lowest notes are inclined to disappear; but the textures are in general exceptionally clear and, partly as a result of that pitch, the lines are beautifully relaxed. Another distinctive detail is of course that the Cappella Pratensis have always based their repertory around music of the Josquin period, as a result of which everything sounds a lot less forced than some other performances.

Another special detail here is the inclusion of the Proper chants for the Mass. And one of the truly magical and peaceful moments here is that way the Sanctus grows out of the end of the Preface. How the rhythms in the monophonic chants were established is not explained: they may be based on just guesswork, but are highly original; and the chant in general is always attractive, not a mere space-filler between the polyphony.

As a serious eccentricity, the polyphony (and most of the chant) is sung with a French pronunciation of the Latin but some of the priest sections are sung with Italian pronunciation, based on the knowledge that most of the singers in the Sistine Chapel were francophone but the celebrants were Italians. The singer (not identified) sounds a lot better than most priests I have heard, but this is taking historical style to a new extreme.